By Message Staff
Violent storms rolled through the state for the second weekend in a row, this time packing high winds and damaging homes in the cities of Leesville and Mandeville as well as Natchitoches Parish on Sunday, April 19.
Vernon Parish Sheriff Sam Craft told KPLC-TV that property damage was substantial and numerous power lines were knocked down on the northern edge of Leesville along Highway 171. He reported that there were no injuries in his area that were associated with the storm. A team from the National Weather Service was en route to Leesville Monday to survey damage and determine if a tornado had touched down.
East Leesville Baptist Church reported a couple of downed trees and some siding blown off the back of its worship center. Pastor Tommy Kiker wrote on the church’s Facebook page that members of the church were serving others impacted by the storm, and they would continue the response throughout the week.
“Thankfully it seems only property damage and no major injuries that we have heard of so far,” Kiker wrote. “Continue to pray for one another and as always as we serve may it be obvious we love God, Love people, Seek the Lost, and Make Disciples!”
The Mandeville Police Department reported damage around Monroe, Messina, Galvez and Park Streets, but also that there were no injuries. The National Weather Service classified the damage as a “possible tornado.”
In Natchitoches Parish, a large tree blocked a section of Highway 153, just north of the community of Creston, and over Highway 120 in Flora. Heavy rainfall also flooded farmland, such as a field off Bermuda Road south of the city of Natchitoches.
