OPELOUSAS, La. — After severe weather rumbled through St. Landry Parish Wednesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) surveyed the area to determine if a possible tornado touched down.
A press conference was held Thursday afternoon at the Parish courthouse to brief the media. NWS confirmed there were two EF-1 tornadoes that touched in St. Landry Parish.
Severe weather tore through St.Landry Parish, leaving thousands without power or nowhere to go after some homes were destroyed.
Thursday evening, utility crews restored much of the power while others cleaned up debris around the neighborhood.
Amid utility crews restoring power on this busy Thursday morning, the National Weather Service surveyed the area, measuring the extent of the damage.
"We had two EF-1 tornadoes in St.Landry Parish: one north of Washington and another north of Port Barre. The first tornado in Washington came in at 95 miles per hour, and the Port Barre tornado came in at 95 miles per hour," said Warning Coordination Meteorologist Doug Cramer.
The Parish held a press conference Thursday afternoon to announce efforts to secure federal aid, but residents must take one step before anything can be done.
"If you did have damage to your home, we ask that you photograph it as best you can and then check with your insurance company because even if FEMA kicks in with federal funding, they will require you to check with your insurance first," said Van Reed, the Parish's Director of Emergency and Preparedness.
Parts of the Parish suffered power line and tree damage, leaving it in chaos. One of the hardest hit areas was near West Grolee Street, where four power line poles bent over and nearly collapsed on a home, but some homes in the area were not lucky.
"A few minutes later, I don't know if it was a tornado, but something came. Lighting struck a tree here, and it fell on the power lines. It was so dark and loud that I thought the building would collapse on us. I was scared to death," said Jaime Mistrot, a store worker at Super Looper.
"For the area to be declared a disaster, we have to meet a threshold, and the state has to make a threshold in the amount of damage, and that will determine if we get declared as a disaster, and then that gets sent to FEMA, who then recommends it to President Biden which makes the declaration and no federal funding will become available without a Presidental declaration," said Reed.
In the meantime, but not yet available to the public, the Parish will set up an online portal.
"We will open up a state damage portal, which is damage.la.gov, and at that point, they can turn in damage to their homes and explain the extent of it," said Reed.
Jessie Bellard, Parish President, says crews need time to clean up the debris.
"We are looking at a couple of weeks before we can get everything cleaned up because, right now, it's just cutting and pushing with these trees. We are not picking up; we are just trying to open the roads; we are just pushing out the debris, and then we have to go back and pick up that debris, which will be a process," said Bellard.
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