ST. JAMES PARISH, La. — A powerful tornado with winds of 105 mph blew through St. James Parish Thursday night, the National Weather Service confirmed. Residents who live in Covent and Romeville were impacted by the storm.
Roofs of multiple mobile homes and residences were damaged. Officials said 40 homes were damaged while 900 homes and businesses are still without power. Several trees and power poles also snapped along the tornado's path.
According to the Department of Emergency Management, those residents could be without power for up to two days.
On Friday evening, the National Weather Service confirmed the twister was an EF-1 tornado with a peak wind of 105 mph and a maximum width of 120 yards.
The tornado and severe thunderstorms caused widespread power outages. At one point, nearly 65,000 were without power.
Parish officials said there were no injuries reported.
With more potential severe weather on the way, officials advise residents to pick up any limbs or debris in their yards.
The city's emergency operations director, Eric Deroche said that the Romeville area is resilient and he's ready to help rebuild.
"With this event, we were very fortunate, no injuries no fatalities, just property damage. Everyone walked away. We'll continue to help rebuild in any way that we can."
The American Red Cross has opened an emergency shelter at the Covent Community Center. The shelter is open now and will be open for at least 24 hours.
The Convent Community Center is at 5775 LA-44.
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