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VIDEO: Tuesday twisters wreak havoc on the region

7 years 1 month 2 weeks ago Tuesday, February 07 2017 Feb 7, 2017 February 07, 2017 7:48 AM February 07, 2017 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - Seven tornadoes were reported in six Louisiana parishes as severe weather blasted the area Tuesday morning.

Reports of tornadoes and injuries started before lunch in Ascension and Livingston Parish. By the afternoon, the skies cleared, the sun baked the wet ground and people came to realize the devastation was far and wide. Thousands were without power, numerous people were injured and in New Orleans' eastern area, there was extreme devastation.

In Livingston Parish, people talked about seeing a tornado pass through Killian. There, two people were hurt when their home was blown off its foundation.

       Click HERE to read more about storm damage in Killian

North of there, in Watson, two people were taken to the hospital after the mobile home they were living in was blown over and destroyed.

Officials in Livingston Parish spent the afternoon coordinating cleanup crews who had to remove debris from numerous roadways. Emergency officials suspect as many as seven homes were damaged and some were destroyed.

The National Weather Service will deploy storm experts to officially label the weather event in Livingston Parish a tornado.

Meteorologists are confident a tornado tore through Donaldsonville, in Ascension Parish in Tuesday's severe weather outbreak. There was extensive damage in the community on the western side of the Mississippi River. At least one person was injured in Donaldsonville Tuesday.

People shared video of tornadic activity as the storm moved through the area.

      WATCH video here.

At schools on either side of the Mississippi River and into Tangipahoa, students were huddled into hallways and told to stay calm, and brace for tornadoes that may pass overhead. There were no injuries reported at any school and only Ascension Parish said there was minor damage to a district office but schools seemed to have been spared any significant destruction.

The governor declared a state of emergency. Gov. John Bel Edwards traveled to New Orleans East where homes were torn apart, cars tossed on roofs and numerous people were hurt. The area, devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, looked like a war zone.

Edwards promised the state will "working tirelessly to ensure that every citizen affected by this storm receives the resources they need as quickly as possible."

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To report severe weather, contact your nearest law enforcement agency. They will send your report to the National Weather Service in New Orleans.

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