NEW ORLEANS -- Search-and-rescue crews surveyed heavily damaged homes and debris-filled streets Wednesday after tornadoes ripped through the New Orleans area the evening before, killing at least one resident and knocking out power to thousands of residents.
The National Weather Service confirmed early Wednesday that two tornadoes had hit the area: one in Lacombe, north of the city across Lake Pontchartrain, and another that ripped through both the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish, sending several people to the hospital.
Rescuers from the National Guard, state police and others spent the overnight hours sifting through the destruction, looking for residents who may have been trapped.
Guy McInnis, the president of St. Bernard Parish, said that seven area residents had been treated for minor injuries at a hospital Tuesday night.
When the sun came up Wednesday, McInnis said, he was grateful for the clear weather, which would make response efforts easier.
"And the next thought was: How did no one else die in this event?" he said. "It's just incredible what these tornadoes do."
McInnis said authorities had found major damage at 40 to 50 buildings by midmorning, although assessments were still underway. The destruction, he said, was concentrated in a 2-mile stretch in the community of Arabi.
There, the streets were littered by small pieces of wood and wire, tufts of grass from the nearby marshland and puffs of pink insulation. Classes at Arabi Elementary School were canceled, although other schools in the parish were open and following normal schedules.
John Bauman, a local plumber, surveyed the scene somberly Wednesday morning.
"This is the first time I've seen this," he said.
His block of Success Street had been left fairly intact. In his neighbor's backyard, the top to a shed had blown off. But a block away, around a short curve, the damage was severe.
Bauman, 45, pointed to a cottage with shredded roof rafters and walls that flared out at the bottom.
"Looks like they were home -- both of their vehicles are here," he said, wondering aloud about the fate of the residents. "How did they get through? How did they ever get through?"
Another house, where Bauman had once worked on the pipes, had no roof at all. Insulation hung off two walls like a pink feather boa.
Two doors down, a house had blown into the middle of the street, carrying a young girl who was dependent on a ventilator, officials said.
Aaron Ledet, 44, said Tuesday night that when he heard the wind, he headed to the bathroom.
"I just put my family in the bathtub and prayed," he said.
Once the gusts ceased, he went outside and was among the neighbors and firefighters who rescued the girl from her house.
Similar scenes played out across St. Bernard Parish on Tuesday night. Neighbors pitched in to help each other, amid darkness, fallen tree branches, live power lines and the smell of gas from damaged gas lines.
Chris Dier of St. Bernard Parish described a frightening scene Tuesday night, including flying debris and the sound of a loud roar.
"It was like nothing I've ever heard before," said Dier, a high school history teacher. "Seemed like a massive light in the sky took over."
The tornado skipped his house, but about two streets away, a church was destroyed, homes were flattened, and vehicles were overturned and covered in debris. Everywhere, he said, he saw downed trees and power lines.
Still, Dier remained optimistic.
"I'm confident we will rebuild," he said. "We've done it before. We'll do it again."
The tornado came as a spring storm system that was blamed for at least one other death this week moved through the Deep South. By Tuesday morning, hours before the tornado hit, Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana had closed many state offices, and schools in Louisiana and Mississippi adjusted their schedules in anticipation of the weather.
People search through damaged homes Wednesday in Arabi, La., where one of two tornadoes struck Tuesday night, causing widespread damage and killing at least one person. The twisters touched down in the New Orleans area, one north of the city across Lake Pontchartrain and another that ripped through New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish. Several people were hospitalized, authorities said. (AP/Gerald Herbert)