Tornadoes bear down
“It’s bad. I’ve never seen it this bad.”
A man walks down the street past destroyed homes after a tornado tore through the eastern part of New Orleans on Tuesday. Left, Lisa Carruth hugs her granddaughter Juayonna Carruth. The National Weather Service says at least three confirmed tornadoes touched down, including one inside the New Orleans city limits.
Tornadoes ripped through southern Louisiana on Tuesday, leaving only splintered wood where houses once stood and causing dozens of minor injuries as a violent weather system barreled across the South.
There were no immediate reports of deaths after four twisters hit the region, leaving 10,000 homes without power and prompting Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards to declare a state of emergency. Dozens of homes, cars and businesses were damaged.
The worst of the devastation occurred in New Orleans East, where a tornado ripped buildings from foundations and left power lines strewn across roadways. James Thomas rode out the storm there in his bathroom after grabbing his motorcycle helmet for extra protection. After the danger passed, he found his house narrowly escaped the tornado, which left his neighborhood encased in damage.
“It’s bad,” he told the Associated Press. “I’ve never seen it this bad.”
Twisters also touched down near Donaldsonville, Killian and Ponchatoula, the Storm Prediction Center said. NASA reported damage and minor injuries at its facility in Michoud.
Initial reports indicate dozens of minor injuries and two seriously wounded, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu told the Associated Press.
Residents were stunned by the level of destruction.
Malcolm Ballard, 65, gazed at the damage to Royal Palms Motel, where he lives — or used to. “I’m homeless now,” he told the Associated Press. Inside, his room appeared ransacked, the furniture and carpet soaked by rain that poured in from broken windows.
Kimberly Chaney was trying to record the tornado when her mother pulled her inside their East New Orleans home.
Four of them huddled in a bedroom as the twister hit, knocking down part of the roof and blowing out the windows. All their cars were totaled, she told the Associated Press. Her niece worried about her homework, stuck inside a damaged computer.
“It’s a natural disaster. Your teacher will understand,” Chaney told her.