By Message Staff
Hours after a round of powerful storms moved across the state, Louisiana Baptists Disaster Relief crews were on the ground Thursday, May 9.
According to Louisiana Baptists Disaster Relief Director Gibbie McMillan, volunteers were assessing 22 damaged homes east of Jonesboro and the Caney Lakes Recreational Area in Webster Parish.
The storm also damaged the home of Chad McClurg, the Baptist Collegiate Ministry director at the University of Louisiana-Monroe. According to a Facebook post by LSU BCM Director Steve Masters, McClurg was in his house when the tree fell onto his home in Monroe, but he was not injured.
Masters posted that McClurg’s homeowners’ insurance will cover the damages, but he will have to pay a deductible. Contributions can be made by sending a personal check to 1005 University Avenue, Monroe, Louisiana 71203.
The home of Chad McClurg, BCM director at the University of Louisiana-Monroe, was damaged Wednesday, May 8, 2019, after a powerful storm passed through Monroe. Facebook photo
A tornado was preliminary reported to have touched down in Jonesboro. Other locations where a tornado possibly touched down included the Panola County, Texas-Caddo Parish, Louisiana line; southeast of Stonewall; near Robeline; and south of Ruston.
Additional tornadoes were preliminarily reported north of Marshall, Texas, and Columbia and Union counties in Arkansas. National Weather Service crews expect to survey the areas to confirm the tornadoes.
While no fatalities have been reported with this latest line of severe weather, there are a number of trees down, flooding, and road closures.
The Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page that deputies and Haughton firefighters and police officers rescued people in the Fox Chase subdivision in Haughton. Rising waters flooded eight homes, prompting evacuations Thursday morning.
Several roadways were flooded Thursday as water covered the roads, including part of Interstate 20 near Greenwood that closed for a few hours. Several employees of a Love’s Truck Stop near the interstate were briefly trapped by floodwaters from a creek that surrounded the building.
Accuweather.com reported a possible tornado destroyed a trailer home in Ruston, a city that saw an EF-3 tornado touch down April 26.
Nearly 31,000 customers in Louisiana remained without electricity at 10:45 a.m. Thursday, according to poweroutage.us. Much of the state remains under a flash flood watch with more storms expected through Sunday.
