Strong storms, tornado that swept through area overnight caused limited damage
Strong storms that swept through the area Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning damaged three houses and overturned a camper in central Lafourche but left no one injured, officials said.
An EF1 tornado touched down about 10:01 p.m. Tuesday in near Holley Street in Bayou Blue and traveled northeast for just under a fifth of a mile toward Bayou Bend Drive, the National Weather Service said Wednesday afternoon. The tornado, which stayed on the ground about a minute, packed top winds estimated at 95 mph and had a maximum width of about 50 yards.
Eric Benoit, Lafourche Parish's assistant emergency preparedness director, said officials received reports of two homes damaged in Bayou Blue and one in Raceland.
"We are in the process of going out there and taking a look at it," Benoit said Wednesday morning. "If they need tarps, we've got tarps. We can contact Red Cross if they need anything more like shelter or anything like that."
Winds knocked an unoccupied camper onto its side in Bayou Blue, Lafourche Parish government spokesman Robbie Lee said.
"A brief tornado touched down near Holley Street and moved quickly northeast," the Weather Service said after surveying the damage. "An RV that was not tied down flipped here along with minor fence damage. Farther northeast, a large piece of roof was removed from a house along with a barn shifted and damaged. A house to the north also had minor damage. Around this, debris was thrown in all direction as well as evidence on the ground of debris digging in and being dragged."
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Terrebonne, Lafourche and most of south Louisiana had been under severe-storm and tornado warnings as a cold front pushed east.
In Terrebonne, parish Emergency Preparedness Director Earl Eues said his office had received no reports of damaged homes.
"There was no major damage in Terrebonne last night," Eues said. "There were some minor power outages by the city utilities and Entergy."
Six people sought shelter at the Houma Municipal Auditorium until the storm passed. The parish opened the shelter at 7 Tuesday night and encouraged residents in campers after Hurricane Ida to go there or to the homes of family or friends.
In Houma, sustained winds reached a peak of 29 mph, with gusts of 44 mph, late Tuesday afternoon, according to Weather Underground. Most of the area recorded less than an inch of rain.
Terrebonne public schools started dismissing students at 1:45 p.m. Tuesday, and schools in both parishes canceled after-school activities Tuesday. A normal schedule resumed Wednesday.
This article originally appeared on Daily Comet: Overnight tornado damages several homes in central Lafourche
