By Baptist Message staff
LAKE CHARLES, La. (LBM) – Severe storms knocked out power to thousands across Southeast Louisiana and produced multiple tornadoes that caused significant damage and at least two deaths in the state, May 13.
According to storm reports from the National Weather Service, tornadoes touched down on the east side of Sulphur and also near the Sasol plant, before moving across Westlake and into Lake Charles. Teams were scheduled to survey the area, May 14.
Damage in the area included the sign of a Walmart along with a gas station in its parking lot. Across the street, cars were overturned in a shopping center.
A tractor-trailer also overturned on the Interstate 10 bridge in Lake Charles, blocking traffic on Monday evening.
In Henderson, Pat’s Fisherman Wharf Restaurant posted on its Facebook page a video of extensive damage to its restaurant.
The owners of Pat’s, which opened in 1948, believe possible tornado activity is the cause of the destruction that ripped off roofs and tore through structures on the landmark’s site.
The site is a popular tourist attraction located on Bayou Portage just a few miles south of I-10 in Henderson, a small fishing community interconnected by bayous and canals on the edge of the Atchafalaya Basin. The restaurant is known for its famous plates of fresh, fried catfish and waterside seating.
Carey Baptist Associational Missions Strategist Bruce Baker said he still was checking in on his churches to assess any possible damage, but he noticed extensive damage to homes in Westlake, Sulphur and Lake Charles. “Roofs, trees and fences took the worst,” Baker told the Baptist Message.
The National Weather Service has confirmed the touchdown of two tornadoes Calcasieu Parish.
One of those twisters (115-mph winds) occurred in Lake Charles and the other in Sulphur on Monday, May 13.
The National Weather Service said it also found damage consistent with an EF-1 tornado in Slidell near Old Spanish Trail, but it said more storm surveys would be needed to determine the path, length and wind speeds.
At one time, more than 115,000 were without power in Louisiana. However, at of 8:45 a.m., that number had decreased to more than 72,000.
Downed trees also were reported in the parishes of Livingston, West Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge, Ascension and St. Tammany. A number of schools were closed due to the power outage.
The storm was blamed for at least two deaths.
A woman died after a tree fell onto a mobile home near Erwinville, according to WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge. A five-year-old child and an adult male also were in the home and sustained injuries. An 83-mph wind gust was reported at the nearby Erwinville Community Center at the time of the incident.
Another person also died in the aftermath of the storm near Henderson, KPLC-TV in Lake Charles of unknown causes.
In New Orleans, streets flooded. A flash flood emergency was declared for the metro area, and the weather service there warned residents “DO NOT DRIVE right now!” New Orleans police showed images of inundated roads and urged people to avoid flooded areas.
St. Tammany Parish, on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain across from New Orleans, shared video of destruction, including downed trees and destroyed houses and buildings, amid heavy rain.
Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief Strategist Stan Statham said no teams had been activated for storm response.
