- A deadly tornado has swept through New Orleans.
- The Twister was part of a severe eruption in the south.
- Houses were torn apart and cars were tipped from Texas to Alabama.
Damage assessments and surveys continued across the south Wednesday as residents began long cleaning after houses were torn apart, cars overturned and at least two people were killed in an outbreak of severe weather containing several tornadoes.
The New Orleans Metro area and several communities in Mississippi were among the areas with the worst damage.
One person was found in Arabi in the st. Bernard Parish killed, bordering New Orleans. The same line of storm was blown for a fatal crash Monday in Texas, where several tornadoes were reported.
(MORE: At least One Dead After Tornado Tears Through New Orleans Metro Area)
Here are our live updates from Wednesday, as the weather continues to move east. For Tuesday’s Live Updates page, click here.
Arabi Tornado victim identified
Authorities said the man was killed Tuesday night in St. Louis, Missouri. Bernard Parish’s Connor Lambert, 25, reported the Associated Press.
A neighbor told nola.com that Lambert had come home in his truck just as the storm began. After the tornado passed, the neighbor saw the destruction and ran and started calling for Lambert.
A press release from St. Bernard Parish Sheriff James Pohmann said Lambert died of “multiple blunt force injuries.”
Emergency declared in four pairs
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency in the Parishes of St. Louis. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany explained.
“Unfortunately, our people are far too familiar with rebuilding after tragedy and loss, but it is never easy,” Edwards said in a press release.
About 300 troops of the National Guard were activated.
New Orleans area damage consistent with at least EF-3 tornado, NWS says
Initial surveys by the National Weather Service show that the damage in Arabia was caused by at least one EF-3 tornado, which has winds between 158 mph and 206.
Damage was seen in Arabi, Louisiana, on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, a day after a tornado raged through the community and adjacent parts of New Orleans.
(St. Bernard Parish Government via Twitter)
In the st. Bernard Parish, ‘It’s a Disaster’
Louis Pomes, street court chief at the park church, described the scene as crews work to clear the road for first responders and residents to assess the damage on Wednesday morning.
“There is so much rubbish. There are ships, there are houses, there are roofs … cars are upside down, “Pomes said in a post on the par’s Twitter feed.” It’s a disaster.
Residents are reminded to use caution when operating generators
The Federal Emergency Management Agency wants people in the affected areas to remember this The generator can cause carbon monoxide poisoning or fires.
Generators should never be operated inside or next to a building, enclosed area or open windows.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission: “A generator produces as much CO as hundreds of cars. It can incapacitate and kill consumers within minutes.”
Six people in Louisiana died of carbon monoxide poisoning from generators in the days after Hurricane Ida in August, according to the state Department of Health.
A complete list of important generator safety tips can be found here on the CPSC website.
Search and rescue teams continue to inspect Louisiana homes
Secondary search for debris was this morning in St. Louis. Bernard Parish running, according to the New Orleans Fire Department.
The agency posted a few Photos of destruction.
Search and rescue teams inspect a damaged home in St. Louis. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, Wednesday, March 23, 2022.
(New Orleans Fire Department via Twitter.)
Girl in a wheelchair rescued from the ‘Wizard of Oz’ house
One of the seven people reported injured in Arabi, a community near New Orleans, was a girl in a wheelchair who was rescued from a house that the tornado lifted from its foundation and down the middle of the street, nola.com reported.
Neighbors who ran to help compared it to a scene from The Wizard of Oz.
“I saw the house and I saw my neighbor trying to get his daughter outside,” resident Chuck Heirsch, who called 911, told the newspaper. “They were yelling. His wife was hysterical. They were already traumatized by that ‘Wizard of Oz’ ride.
Initial reactions led the girl safely out of the house.
Damage extended to Alabama
Storms and flooding caused damage in Alabama Tuesday night. Officials in Hale County, south of Tuscaloosa, reported that at least 20 homes were damaged, according to WHNT-TV.
Video showed floodwaters flooding streets in Birmingham, and roads were flooded as well washed out in different areas.
How to help victims in Louisiana
The United Way of Southeast Louisiana is accepting public donations for its Tornado Relief Fund, with all proceeds going toward immediate relief efforts and long-term reconstruction.
“Nearly two-thirds of households in the affected areas of St. Bernard and Orléans parishes do not earn enough to save for disasters and many are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Ida,” said Michael Williamson, UWSELA President and CEO, in a press release. .
Cash donations as well as supplies including diapers, baby formula and toilets are needed.
Details on how to contribute can be found here.
Daylight gives the first glance at the extent of the damage
A house has been moved by its foundation. Dach fort. Owners strewn across lawns and sidewalks.
These are some of the images that emerged as the sun rose this morning over Arabi in the St. Bernard Parish has risen.
Tornado Path, Hurricane Ida Destruction Overlap
Some of the hardest hit areas are still recovering from Hurricane Ida, which came ashore as a Category 4 storm and broke through southeastern Louisiana seven months ago. The storm was attributed to 26 deaths and left several neighborhoods without power for weeks.
St. Bernard Parish and Arabi residents are among those still building up.
Stacey Mancuso’s family lost their roof to Ida and suffered extensive water damage. They just finished the repair.
Tuesday’s tornado took off part of its new roof as Mancuso, her husband and two children hacked into their laundry room.
“We are living. That is what I can say at this time,” Mancuso told the Associated Press. “We still have four walls and part of a roof. I consider myself happy.”
It is the third time that they have had major weather damage in their home since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Damage reported in 12 Mississippi counties
Homes were damaged in a dozen Mississippi counties as the storm moved through Tuesday, according to the state emergency management agency. At least two people were injured – one in Holmes County, north of Jackson, and one in Copiah County in the south.
The update said severe weather, tornadoes, hail, damaging winds and lightning flooded all affected parts of the state, with multiple reports of fallen trees on roads and power lines.
Dozens of Tornado Reports From Texas to Alabama
There have been more than five dozen reports of tornadoes from Texas and Oklahoma to Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, according to preliminary figures from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center.
The number of reports does not indicate the correct number of tornadoes, as some may be reported more than once.
The official number will not be finalized until the National Weather Service has completed the storm surveys. Some of these polls are already underway and more teams are out today.
Power Outages Length in some areas
Some 14,000 homes and stores are without electricity in Louisiana and Mississippi starting at about 10:15 a.m. CDT, according to PowerOutage.us.
Most of the Louisiana outbreaks are in Orleans and St. Louis. Bernard Paren. In Mississippi, most of them are in the central part of the state. More than 19,000 outbreaks are reported in Texas.
Bertelina Martinez, who lives in the area and her son lives across the street, looks over destruction after a tornado in the area in Arabi, Louisiana, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. (AP Photo / Gerald Herbert)
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report the weather, the environment, and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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