A powerful weather system sweeping through the South has left a trail of destruction in Louisiana, killing at least three people and injuring dozens more as violent tornadoes struck, toppling homes, hurling debris and knocking out power.
Deaths attributed to storm-related events include a 56-year-old woman who died after a tornado hit her home in the Killona area of St. Charles Parish, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.
Additionally, a boy and his mother were found dead when a tornado destroyed their home Tuesday in the northwest Louisiana community of Keithville, the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office said. The bodies of the mother and son were found hours apart, not far from where their home once stood, officials said.
Many communities across Louisiana reported devastation, with roofs torn off, homes torn off, road debris and cars overturned. As wild winds downed power lines, more than 50,000 customers were without power across Louisiana and Mississippi Wednesday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us. That number dropped to less than 15,000 early Thursday.
There were at least 49 tornado reports in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama and Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Storm Prediction Center. More tornado reports are likely to come as inspectors continue to check for damage.
And the threat isn’t over yet. More than 15 million people could see severe weather Thursday in parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas as the severe weather system moves eastward, according to CNN meteorologist Robert Shackelford.
More than 1.5 million people were under a tornado watch for southeast Alabama, northern Florida and southern Georgia as of 9 a.m. Thursday. Strong tornadoes are still possible, as well as quarter-sized hail and strong wind gusts of up to 70 mph.
The massive storm that brought destruction to Louisiana and the Southeast is part of a massive system that has also brought blizzard conditions to northern parts of the central US.
For Thursday, the storms are expected to weaken slightly, but there is a risk of severe weather for much of Florida, coastal Georgia and the coastal Carolinas. Cities like Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Savannah and Charleston could see damaging winds, large hail and isolated tornadoes, Shackelford said.
In Louisiana, the damage was extensive, affecting many communities, prompting Governor John Bel Edwards to declare a state of emergency.
About 5,000 structures were likely damaged when the tornado hit the city of Gretna, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans, Mayor Belinda Constand said.
Further north, at least 20 people were injured in the small Union Parish town of Farmerville when a tornado touched down Tuesday night, demolishing parts of an apartment complex and a mobile home park, said Farmerville Police Detective Cade Nolan.
Patsy Andrews was home with her children in Farmerville when she heard the “rushing wind like a train” outside, she told CNN’s KNOE-TV.
Her son told her not to open the door when she went to investigate, but it was too late.
“All of a sudden this wind was so strong, it blew my back door off,” Andrews said. “The lights went out and all we could hear was glass breaking everywhere.”
She said she and her daughter fell to the floor, crawling down a hallway as glass shattered around them and water poured from the ceiling. They ended up taking refuge in their bathroom.
“We just got in the tub and hugged each other. We just kept praying and I was just calling on Jesus,” Andrews said. Her family survived the storm but were left with damage to their home.
In the Algiers area of New Orleans, four residents were taken to area hospitals as the storm hit the area on the west bank of the Mississippi River, Collin Arnold, director of the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, told CNN. At least one home collapsed in the area, and other homes and businesses were damaged, Arnold added.
Officials at St. Bernard Parish also reported “major damage” in Arabi, where a tornado touched down, they said, leaving much of the area without power.
Crews in Arabi will conduct search and rescue efforts throughout the night, St. Bernard James Pohlmann. Ten people have been rescued due to the severe weather, but no serious injuries or deaths have been reported, Polman added.
Cindy DeLucca Hernandez thought she could beat the storm while driving home after picking up her 16-year-old son from school. But on the journey, she was faced with a tornado.
“It was extremely scary, I’ve never been through anything like that,” Hernandez said.
Video he shared with CNN shows him waiting at a red light as a tornado hit Arabi, whipping up debris and downing power lines.
“We started seeing debris and got hit a few times by it and that’s when I put the car in reverse,” he said. Hernandez and her son made it home safely.
Jefferson Parish Councilman Scott Walker said he saw at least a mile of debris.
“Power lines down, houses badly damaged, roofs destroyed,” he said in a video shared online describing the scene. “It’s a scene of widespread damage and a long path of destruction here on the west bank.”
Two schools in Jefferson Parish were damaged by the storm and are expected to remain closed Thursday.
Iberia Medical Center “suffered significant damage,” Police Chief Leland Laseter said on Facebook. CNN has reached out to the medical center for comment.
The New Iberia Police Department reported on Facebook that two tornadoes touched down in the city, with several homes damaged and reports of people trapped in the Southport subdivision.
The storm also left damage in Texas and Oklahoma as it moved south earlier this week, spawning tornadoes.
In Texas, at least seven people were injured Tuesday in the Dallas-Fort Worth area – including at least five around the town of Grapevine. Two reports of tornadoes were reported in Grapevine, where police said a shopping center and other businesses were damaged.
An EF2 tornado touched down in Wise County near the communities of Paradise and Decatur, damaging homes and businesses, officials said. The video shows broken homes with roofs ripped off in Decatur.
In Wayne, Oklahoma, an EF2 tornado damaged homes, outbuildings and barns early Tuesday, officials said. No injuries were reported, but homes were flattened or roofs ripped off, video from CNN affiliate KOCO shows.
