EF3 tornado flips homes, claims life and injures numerous others in Louisiana
Reports of flipped vehicles and damaged homes dotted southern Louisiana on Sunday night after a confirmed tornado wreaked havoc in Acadia Parish, Louisiana.
On Monday night, the National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed an EF-3 tornado touched down in Church Point, Louisiana, at 8:34 p.m. local time Sunday. The tornado was on the ground for seven minutes and travelled 4 miles before dissipating.
The preliminary report from the NWS estimates the Church Point tornado produced peak winds of 150 mph.
"[There is a] tree on the road, all these lines are gone. Eighteen-wheeler flipped over on the back side trees all in the pond," Church Point resident Wyatt Thibodeaux told KLFY.com. "[I] took off running towards the shop, going the opposite way. It sounded like a freight train when it hit... Trailers upside down, cars upside down. People don't have homes to go to, I can't imagine. It's pretty bad."
The reports of damage culminated in one fatality and at least nine injuries with much of the destruction centered near Church Point, located 25 miles from Lafayette.
A look at some of the storm damage just outside of Churchpoint pic.twitter.com/eAJOqZEYeq
— Abby Breidenbach (@AbbyBreidenbach) May 18, 2020
According to a report from the NWS's Storm Prediction Center (SPC), one person was killed in Louisiana's Acadia Parish Sunday night when their mobile home was picked up off its pilings and thrown 50 yards onto a section of Prudence Highway, just three miles northwest of Church Point. Two other residents inside the home were hospitalized with significant injuries.
Speaking with KATC, Church Point Fire Chief Raymond Ledoux confirmed numerous injuries occurred over the same area, ranging from mild to serious in nature. Severe damage was also reported to several homes and farms in the area.
The SPC reported that the same tornado flipped an eighteen-wheeler onto its side near the intersection of highways 751 and 35, just north of the Church Point downtown area.
Damage pics & reports starting to come in from the Church Point & Richard areas in Acadia Parish. At least six injuries, some serious...more to come. Picture courtesy of Seth Richard. #LAwx pic.twitter.com/IYLN07bMia
— Rob Perillo (@robperillo) May 18, 2020
The NWS confirmed an additional tornado occurred a few hours earlier in Allen Parish, Louisiana, just to the northwest of the Acadia Parish. This tornado was rated an EF-1 with an estimated peak wind of 100 mph. No injuries or fatalities were reported.
The SPC also reported damage caused by two additional possible tornadoes in neighboring parishes. The first in the Calcasieu Parish and the second in the Evangeline Parish.
These storms likely initiated along a cold front that pushed through Louisiana during the day Sunday.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
