State of emergency declared in New Orleans after 2 tornadoes
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(NewsNation) — An EF-3 tornado tore through parts of New Orleans and its parishes Tuesday night, damaging communities, killing at least one person and injuring others. Now, the city is under a state of emergency.
“We found nearly 230 homes that were significantly damaged,” Louisiana State Fire Marshal H. Butch Browning said on “Morning in America.” “From that standpoint, it was as bad, if not worse than Hurricane Katrina because many of the homes damaged during Hurricane Katrina were more light wind and heavy water, heavy flooding. We’ve got homes that were splintered. I mean, we have catastrophic damage to residential and commercial properties.”
The emergency declaration covers St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes, areas that saw significant damage from the system.
The first twister appeared to start in a New Orleans suburb and then move east across the Mississippi River into the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans and parts of St. Bernard Parish before moving northeast. EF-3 tornadoes typically have wind speeds between 136 and 165 mph.
A second tornado landed in Lacombe as an EF-1 with winds up to 90 mph, the National Weather service reported.
Browning said the storm came so quickly that residents had little time to evacuate.
He said, “The governor started pushing out some warnings 24 hours out. Right before the tornado hit, cellphone warnings went out, which was credited for for telling people to get inside their homes and practice the inner wall safety of sheltering in the home.”
Browning says the state is still recovering from tornadoes that hit two years ago.
“It is a setback. Thankfully, it was isolated to this little two-mile stretch. One thing about Louisiana is we are very resilient people,” he said. “We had people from other communities from miles away came in to help people rebuild their homes, and that of humanity. So, we’ll recover from all of this.”
He says the recent disaster is a reminder for Americans to plan and prepare for natural disasters.
“It’s a message to everyone to be ready and have a plan. I know that’s one of the things that we work very hard at a state level, through our leadership, to make sure that people know what to do and get prepared,” Browning said.
Christine Wiecek, left, and her husband Robert Patchus, second left, talk to neighbors amongst debris of their damaged homes after a tornado struck the area in Arabi, La., Tuesday, March 22, 2022. A tornado tore through parts of New Orleans and its suburbs Tuesday night, ripping down power lines and scattering debris in a part of the city that had been heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina 17 years ago. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
A car is flipped over after a tornado tore through the area in Arabi, La., Tuesday, March 22, 2022. A tornado tore through parts of New Orleans and its suburbs Tuesday night, ripping down power lines and scattering debris in a part of the city that had been heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina 17 years ago. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
Neighbors stand in the street after a tornado struck in Arabi, La., Tuesday, March 22, 2022. A tornado tore through parts of New Orleans and its suburbs Tuesday night, ripping down power lines and scattering debris in a part of the city that had been heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina 17 years ago. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
A responder walks amid destruction after a tornado in Arabi, La., Tuesday, March 22, 2022. A tornado tore through parts of New Orleans and its suburbs Tuesday night, ripping down power lines and scattering debris in a part of the city that had been heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina 17 years ago. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
Residents stand in the street near a destroyed home after a tornado in Arabi, La., Tuesday, March 22, 2022. A tornado tore through parts of New Orleans and its suburbs Tuesday night, ripping down power lines and scattering debris in a part of the city that had been heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina 17 years ago. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
A truck lies on this side in front of a destroyed home after a tornado swept through the area in Arabi, La., Tuesday, March 22, 2022. A tornado tore through parts of New Orleans and its suburbs Tuesday night, ripping down power lines and scattering debris in a part of the city that had been heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina 17 years ago. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
Claude Maher caries his mother’s dog, who he rescued along with firefighters, after a tornado struck the area in Arabi, La., Tuesday, March 22, 2022. A tornado tore through parts of New Orleans and its suburbs Tuesday night, ripping down power lines and scattering debris in a part of the city that had been heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina 17 years ago. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) 
Melodie Maher watches from a fire truck as her son, Claude Maher, along with firefighters, rescues her dog from her heavily damaged home after a tornado struck the area in Arabi, La., Tuesday, March 22, 2022. A tornado tore through parts of New Orleans and its suburbs Tuesday night, ripping down power lines and scattering debris in a part of the city that had been heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina 17 years ago. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
