ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. — Efforts to recover in St. Tammany Parish are still underway after what the National Weather Service categorized as an EF-2 tornado hit the area on April 10. With 700 homes and 53 businesses damaged, parish officials said they did not meet the damage threshold to receive federal assistance in storm recovery.
Parish spokesman Michael Vinsanau said the parish had to have a damage threshold of $1.2 million in order to get federal dollars to help rebuild. He said the state "has offered to pay 75 percent of the debris removals costs, with the parish and Slidell picking up a 25 percent match."
According to officials, 477 homes in the unincorporated parish and 218 inside the Slidell city limits were damaged in the storms. Eleven businesses in the parish, and 42 businesses in Slidell were damaged.
On April 10, the EF-2 tornado slammed the area with winds up to 120 mph. The storm caused multiple injuries and damage, including an apartment complex near Old Spanish Trail and City Drive that left 50 people without a place to live. At one point, it left 30,000 customers without power.
Debris removal is underway, and leaders were hoping to have the process completed by Friday.
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