Tornadoes Rips Across New Orleans Area; One Dead, Prompting Declaration of National Emergency

Louisiana's governor announced a state of emergency after tornadoes ripped through the New Orleans region Tuesday night, ripping homes off their foundations, leaving thousands without power, and killing at least one person.

The emergency declaration applied to the parishes of St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Tammany, which suffered considerable damage as a result of the system.

According to Gov. John Bel Edwards' statement, a 25-year-old male died in St. Bernard.

New Orleans experienced a massive tornado and one killed

(Photo : Scott Olson/Getty Images)

This tornado was created by the same massive storm that resulted in at least one reported death and significant damage in Texas and Oklahoma on Monday.

On Tuesday evening, the National Weather Service reported a massive tornado touching down near New Orleans, Louisiana.

The tornado and storm already had gone east out from the city inside an hour, however other tornadoes in the area were conceivable.

Officials in New Orleans recorded power failures and damaged power lines, as per USA Today.

Around 7:20 p.m., tornado warnings were issued on Tuesday, a black funnel cloud was seen traveling through the area on video from NBC station WDSU.

The massive storm is the newest setback for an area that is still hurting from Hurricane Ida and Hurricane Katrina

Arabi, located in St. Bernard Parish just east of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, was particularly heavily damaged, according to officials.

During an interview on NBC's "TODAY" show Wednesday morning, St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis said there are seven individuals who arrived at the hospital with very minor injuries.

"Seeing the route of this storm is an amazing wonder," he remarked, as per NBC News.

Also Read: In a Rare Occurence, Tornado Wrecks Havoc in Victoria, Australia

New Orleans never experienced such a tornado since Hurricane Katrina

New Orleans is still scarred by Hurricane Katrina, which is amongst the most devastating storms in the US history that killed an estimated 1,800 people.

Congressman Troy Carter told a news gaggle that officials are gathering information and working with federal agencies to assess what assistance is available to help affected regions.

"This is one of those cases where we've grown too good at that because we've had far too much experience," Carter explained.

"The magnificence is the people's tenacity."

At a media briefing, Governor John Bel Edwards stated that he had received a phone call from the White House and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), but that the devastation to national infrastructure was unlikely to be broad enough to qualify for government help.

"As you can see, there was still a tremendous amount of damage," he added.

"At this moment, we don't know if we'll achieve the levels required to qualify for government help" as per Reuters.

According to Storm Prediction Center data, homes and businesses including at least a dozen Texas counties were affected.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a disaster in 16 hard-hit counties.

Typhoons in the Crockett region allegedly harmed ten individuals, whereas more like a dozen were apparently wounded elsewhere, according to Abbott.

The Grayson County Emergency Management Office confirmed the death of a 73-year-old lady in the hamlet of Sherwood Shores, some 60 miles north of Dallas, but offered no other information.

There are homes but now it's all rubble

While utility personnel attempted to fix downed power lines along city streets, residents spent the day sifting through debris and climbing rubble heaps where their homes and businesses had stood.

On Wednesday, the system traveled east and was causing severe thunderstorms near Florida's Panhandle.

According to the National Weather Service, it could bring destructive winds, tornadoes, and hail to the region throughout the day.

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