SLIDELL, La. — An EF-2 tornado with winds up to 120 pmph hit the Slidell area Wednesday morning causing significant damage to homes and businesses. Local leaders said they received hundreds of 911 calls as residents were trapped in their homes from debris.
Officials said 50 people were saved from an apartment complex during the storm. No fatalities have been reported at this time and St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper said most of the injuries were minor.
At one point over 30,000 people were without power in St. Tammany Parish, officials said. The parish's utility company, Cleco said it may take days to restore full power to customers impacted by the storm.
"This has been a catastrophic event for the city of Slidell," said Mayor Greg Cromer. "Not on the of Katrina, but these folks who own this business over here, and this church here, this business over here and the 50 residents that live in that apartment, it’s catastrophic to them."
If you have damage to your home, officials said to turn your main breaker off because it could start a fire if there's any electrical damage.
Make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working. They said to be extremely careful with generators. Keep them well-ventilated, away from windows or doors.
Parish leaders also distributed 200 tarps to residents in the area.
Two shelters are open, Creekside Junior High in Pearl River and the Recreation Center in Lacombe.
"We've also heard from the governor, whose acknowledged already that the state is going to provide Cat. A and Cat. B preventions to us, which allows us to immediately start our clean up and get most of that reimbursed to us," said St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper.
Cooper said clean up efforts will begin Thursday, Apr. 11.
"We will immediately begin our cleanup tomorrow to get the rest of the roadways cleared and trees out of the public rights of way and debris picked up," he said.
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