Crews were assessing the damage on Wednesday on the east side of New Orleans where a powerful tornado killed at least one person and injured eight others as it left a two-mile path of destroyed homes, uprooted power lines and overturned vehicles, Trend reports citing Reuters.
A dark funnel cloud touched down at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (0030 GMT Wednesday), flattening buildings and flipping over vehicles in the Arabi area of St. Bernard Parish. read more
A spokesperson for the parish, just east of downtown New Orleans, said first responders found a 26-year-old man dead near his home. Eight other people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, parish spokesperson John Lane said.
"Everybody has been accounted for that we know of at this point," he said, adding that search and rescue teams had finished most of their work.
National Weather Service meteorologists surveying the damage said on Wednesday the tornado was at least an EF3 on the five-point Enhanced Fujita Scale, packing winds of 136 to 165 mph (219 to 266 kph).
About 2,300 customers were without power as of late afternoon Wednesday, according to poweroutage.us. Officials expected power restoration to progress quickly given favorable weather conditions and the amount of electrical crews and volunteers assisting with recovery.