The first round of tornadoes killed one person and injured seven in St. Charles Parish, with a second round hitting Jefferson and St. Bernard.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!NEW ORLEANS – A large area of severe weather ripped through southeast Louisiana, spawning tornadoes and at least one death, leaving thousands without power and damaging hundreds of buildings, primarily on the west bank of Jefferson Parish, St. Charles Parish and St. Bernard Parish.
As of 8:30 p.m., 15,000 Entergy customers were without power in the greater New Orleans area west of Jefferson.
It was an extremely rare severe weather setup in which the possibility of a tornado was given the second highest risk rating – 4 out of 5 possible.Contact Us
The first round of unsettled weather killed one person and injured seven in St. Charles Parish, while the second round spawned at least one tornado that hit Marrero and Gretna on the west coast of Jefferson Parish and damaged several buildings. Heading across the river to St. Bernard Parish, it is as devastating as the one that devastated parts of Arabi earlier this year.
Tornado damage in the area
St. Charles ‘didn’t need it anymore’
The tornado hit St. Charles Parish around 2:30 p.m. The tornado damaged dozens of homes, killing one person and sending eight people to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Sheriff Greg said the storm caused “quite a bit of devastation.”
Champagne said the areas of St. Charles that were damaged are either just recovering or still recovering from Hurricane Ida, whose eye wall hit the same area.
“They didn’t need it again. I heard residents say they couldn’t seem to catch a break.”
Champagne said power companies are bringing in portable lights to guard people’s homes when they’re not on the scene.
He said the department’s firing range suffered a lot of damage, which he said was “completely insignificant compared to the loss of homes and injuries.” However, he said a large piece of debris near where he was standing came from the firing range, which is 1.8 miles away, showing how strong the wind was.
Champagne said anyone needing help eating something can call 985-783-5050. Also, anyone in need of shelter can go to the Kelowna Community Center.
2nd tornado hits Marrero, Gretna, Algiers, RB
A tornado formed in the afternoon that followed an eerily similar pattern to a tornado in March of this year. According to Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee-Sheng, it started near Marrero, a roughly 9 by 5 block area that was badly damaged.
Barataria Blvd was heavily damaged. Between the West Bank Expressway exit and about midway to Barataria before Lapalco.
West Jefferson Hospital, near the strike area, had generator power on Wednesday evening as about a dozen power poles were downed in the area. Entergy was prioritizing restoring power to Louisiana hospitals.
Li-Sheng said several houses were exposed with roofs off. He said most of the residents he spoke with were insured. Li-Sheng also said that the most important thing is that no one lost his life.
“We had no victims, and that’s a blessing. It’s a different kind of crying to lose a loved one and I didn’t have to hear that tonight.”
After Marrero, the tornado caused damage in Gretna where several blocks near Hancock and Fourth Streets sustained damage similar to Marrero.
According to Li Sheng, “There were Christmas trees outside the house and outdoor trees inside the house.”
Li-Sheng said Entergy received a priority list from the parish and will restore power to the most critical areas and then assess.
The storm then moved toward Algiers, damaging a section of a block at General Meyer and Tita Streets.
Then, just like in March, the tornado moved over the Mississippi River, regained some strength, and then hit Arabi in St. Bernard Parish. Fortunately, the damage there seemed less severe than in March.
Gretna was badly hit
City leaders in Gretna said hundreds of buildings were damaged and streetlights were out and power lines were down, making it difficult for people to get around.
Mayor Belinda Constant said it was a miracle no one was injured. He said there are buildings with very bad damage but people survived in a safe place.
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