US: Deadly tornado rips through New Orleans
March 23, 2022
A large tornado battered the southern US city of New Orleans on Tuesday evening, killing one person and leaving several injured, according to local police.
Authorities are assessing the damage in the worst-hit areas, including Arabi, Gretna and Lacombe in St. Tammany parish, some 50 minutes from New Orleans, and the Lower Ninth Ward, a neighborhood in the city.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said the storm cleared the New Orleans area by 8 p.m. local time (0100 UTC).
Power lines cut, buildings damaged
Local media reported houses with damaged roofs and neighborhoods with dangerous downed power lines.
"We had five or six houses totally destroyed. There were people in the homes, so far everyone is accounted for," St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis told WDSU television station in New Orleans.
Around 17,346 people had lost power in the state of Louisiana, home to New Orleans, according to the website PowerOutage. Images on social media showed streets of the city lined with debris.
Tornado season begins
A separate series of tornadoes ripped through Texas and Oklahoma earlier in the week. Tornadoes are not uncommon in this part of the US as spring begins, said Roger Erickson, a NWS meteorologist.
"This is the typical time of the year for these events to unfold. Spring-time is prime for severe weather," Erickson said.
Much of southern Louisiana is still recovering from the damages wrought by Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm that hit the Gulf Coast state last August.
New Orleans was also severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which remains one of the largest and most powerful storms in US history.
rm/wmr (Reuters, AP)