3 killed in Louisiana as severe storms tear across South
Officials said one person died Wednesday after a possible tornado tore through Killona, Louisiana. A mother and her 8-year-old son were killed when a powerful EF-2 tornado touched down in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, on Tuesday night.
The severe weather outbreak that began early Tuesday morning is expected to track across the U.S. through Thursday on the warm side of a coast-to-coast storm that is expected to spawn additional tornadoes, damaging wind and large hail.
Damaging storms raged through the night into Wednesday.
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St. Charles Parish
A potential tornado hit St. Charles Parish Wednesday afternoon. An official said that search and rescue crews were going through Montz and Killona. The only confirmed fatality or injury was in Killona.
St. Charles Parish officials told FOX 8 WVUE that the potential twister hit the Schoolhouse Road area in Killona.
Residents called in damage to the sheriff's office, including flipped mobile homes, downed power lines and roads blocked by debris.
President Matthew Jewell of St. Charles Parish declared a state of emergency.
Caddo Parish
Caddo Parish Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Division Commander Robert Jump said most of the damage from the tornado spanned a mile-long path through the Pecan Farms subdivision in Keithville on Tuesday night.
The tornado, which the National Weather Service estimates had winds of at least 130 mph, also brought down power lines and trees. He estimates about 50 to 60 properties have been seriously damaged and 10 to 15 of them have been completely destroyed.
In a press release, Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana said an 8-year-old boy was found dead in a wooded area of Pecan Farm where his home was destroyed. The body of the boy's mother was found early Wednesday under storm debris a street over from where the family's home was destroyed, officials said.
FOX 8 New Orleans reported that 30-year-old Yoshiko Smith was found a street over from her home while her 8-year-old son Nikolus Little, was recovered half-a-mile away.
The Louisiana Department of Health told FOX 8 that they both died of blunt force trauma.
FOX Weather correspondent Robert Ray said emergency officials have blocked off the area where the boy and his mother were killed, and residents are still not being allowed back.
"This is a town that is not used to dealing with disasters, clearly, and I think they are trying to put the puzzle together this morning," Ray said. "Meanwhile, trying to be sensitive to the fact that a little boy and his mother lost their lives last night to this system."
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At least two other injured people were taken to a hospital after the Caddo Parish storm, according to the sheriff's report.
Approximately two dozen people were injured in Farmerville, Louisiana, when the severe weather moved through that area as well, according to police. They said they received calls well into the overnight hours for help from those impacted by the severe weather.
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Roads and highways are slowly reopening after the severe weather, but before that occurred, police said residents were driving themselves to hospitals for treatment because EMS workers could not reach those who needed help.
No one has been reported missing as of Wednesday morning.