Confirmed tornado tore through mobile homes in Pointe Coupee Tuesday night, sent 3 to hospital
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VENTRESS - Experts say a tornado briefly touched down in Pointe Coupee Parish Tuesday night, hurting three people as it tossed multiple mobile homes that were in its path.
Mobile homes in the False River Park neighborhood were flipped over and people's belongings were strewn across lawns.
An abandoned mobile home that wasn't secured was flipped on its side and wrapped around a tree. A second home was not strapped down and was thrown into a third home, tearing through its walls. Both mobile homes were completely ripped apart.
A neighbor tells WBRZ they had no idea what was going on and ran and took cover in their bathroom.
"We didn't know what was going on. I was in the restroom then 20-30 minutes later my daughter noticed blinking lights outside the door and we walked outside and it was this. We didn't even know what was going on. We all got together and just prayed."
Later Wednesday morning, two of the injured victims returned to their damaged homes, looking for anything salvageable. Looking for shoes, clothes, pictures or even their medications and personal belongings.
A good Samaritan showed up with an excavator and started helping to gather the rubble and move it toward the street for debris pick-up.
The National Weather Service confirmed Wednesday afternoon that an EF1 tornado touched down near Cutt Pointe Drive and moved northeast until it dissipated around Michael Lane.
NEW: @NWSNewOrleans determines EF-1 tornado damage in Pointe Coupee Parish.
— Josh Eachus (@DrJoshWX) January 25, 2023
This was one of two damage reports due to severe weather on Tuesday. The other was a rolled trailer due to high winds in Iberville Parish. #LaWX pic.twitter.com/0OyLtTz1CC
The winds were believed to have reached about 90 miles per hour.
Three people were taken to a hospital, with their injuries varying from minor to moderate.
It took nearly two days to restore electricity in the area where the tornado hit, with parish officials saying the power was back on around 3:20 p.m. Thursday.