By Message Staff
ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM)–Three days after tornadoes and violent thunderstorms wreaked havoc in eastern and northern Louisiana, more tornadoes, swept through these regions, again, damaging buildings and causing one death, Wednesday, April 22.
Among the hardest hit areas was Rapides Parish, where the violent weather claimed the life of a woman in Lecompte on Robinson Ridge Road. according to KALB. In this part of the parish, large trees were uprooted, roofs were blown off houses and power lines were downed.
An LSU Ag Center building in Alexandria was destroyed after a storm passed through the area Wednesday, April 22. Brian Blackwell photo
On the Louisiana State University of Alexandria campus, high winds destroyed parts of the roof and a section of cinder block wall of a facility which is part of the Agricultural Center. Other nearby buildings were extensively impacted, too. The school posted an update on its Facebook page, saying there was “damage to DeWitt Livestock building and a camper flipped over. The Oaks (apartments) and students are ok, but no power on campus.”
High winds heavily damaged LSU Ag Center buildings in Alexandria Wednesday, April 22. Brian Blackwell photo
AROUND THE STATE
The City of Mansfield also experienced a storm-related fatality. KSLA-TV in Shreveport reported that a man was trying to retrieve his garbage can and fell into a flooded canal off Gibbs Street. His body was recovered about 50 yards downstream.
WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge reported that high winds damaged the awning of a Circle K at the intersection of Highway 19 and 64 in Zachary. Further south, a tree fell on a home in the Di Benedetto subdivision of Port Allen, but the homeowners did not sustain any injuries.
According to poweroutage.us, 16,331 were without power in Louisiana at 11:15 a.m. Thursday, April 23.
A DANGEROUS MONTH
April has been an active month for weather in Louisiana.
On Easter Sunday, April 12, a tornado heavily damaged more than 200-300 homes, combined the Monroe-West Monroe area, and caused destruction at the Monroe Regional Airport, located just 200 yards from the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home.
A week later, violent storms rolled through the state, this time packing high winds and damaging homes in the cities of Leesville and Mandeville, as well as Natchitoches Parish on April 19.
