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St. James Parish assessing damage after likely tornado runs through communities

6 months 3 weeks 2 days ago Friday, May 17 2024 May 17, 2024 May 17, 2024 5:39 PM May 17, 2024 in News
Source: WBRZ
By: Mia Monet

ROMEVILLE — The Romeville area of St. James Parish appears to have suffered the worst from severe weather that rolled through the metro area overnight. Residents spent their Friday cleaning up the mess left behind from Thursday night's severe weather.

Radar images from the storm suggested that a tornado had formed and had tossed debris into the air.

"In spite of all the damages that you see here, we have no injuries and no fatalities to report, so that's a blessing," Parish President Pete Dufrense said.

The main damage appears to be along River Road north of Convent. The roadway is closed until the trees have been moved and the powerlines have been restored, parish officials said.

"Structurally as far as the infrastructure on the electrical grid, I also understand there's some damage to the convent substation don't have an extent of how much damage yet," Sheriff Willy Martin.

Crews are still in the process of clearing debris.

"Crews are out right now picking up what they can pick up as far as debris, we need Entergy to clear out some lines that's tangled up in some trees," said Eric Deroach, parish emergency operations center director.

Even as damage from Thursday's storm is still an issue, residents are set for another round of severe weather later Friday night as heavy rain and strong winds make up the forecast. Residents are being asked to clean up whatever they can.

"We will eventually make rounds to pick up the debris in other areas. May or may not make it before the next round because limitation of crews and the amount of debris in this heavily effected area," Deroach said.

The American Red Cross has opened an emergency shelter at the Convent Community Center. The shelter will be open for a minimum of 24 hours, starting at 5:45 p.m. on Friday, May 17th.

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