Louisiana National Guardsmen and other responders went door-to-door in some areas around New Orleans on Wednesday after overnight tornadoes hit the region, with Gov. John Bel Edwards declaring a state of emergency and calling the destruction "devastating."
Other tornadoes spawned by the same storm system caused so much damage in Texas that the governor declared a disaster in 16 counties. Buildings were shredded in Alabama, where torrential rainfall was recorded.
Two people were killed and multiple people were injured as the storm front blew across the South, upending homes and the lives of the residents in them. The dead included a woman north of Dallas and a person in St. Bernard Parish, next to New Orleans. Authorities didn't immediately describe how they were killed.
Edwards declared an emergency in St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes. After flying over the area Wednesday, he walked the streets of the tornado-stricken community of Arabi near New Orleans, greeting storm victims picking through the wreckage of their homes.
"It's awfully sad, because the destruction is so devastating," Edwards said.
"The good news is most of your neighbours outside of this narrow swath — they're able to help."
There were "no injuries, casualties or significant damage reported in Orleans Parish," New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Wednesday, but tornadoes touched down in Arabi, just east of the city, and further east in Lacombe, across Lake Pontchartrain.
In Arabi, debris hung from electrical wires and trees amid destroyed houses. Power poles were down, forcing emergency workers to walk slowly through darkened neighbourhoods checking for damage early Wednesday.
"I wasn't mentally prepared to see what I was seeing," said Amy Sims, who jumped into her car when the tornado warning sounded and drove to the Arabi Heights area to check on relatives.
'Incredible devastation'
"A bomb looked like it had gone off," she said, describing emergency medics, some crying, dodging live wires as they went door-to-door through shattered homes.
The U.S. National Weather Service said the Arabi damage had been caused by a tornado of at least EF-3 in strength, meaning it had winds from 254 km/h to 332 km/h, while the Lacombe-area twister was an EF-1, with winds as strong as 145 km/h.
Television stations broadcast live images as the storm damaged an area about 3.2 kilometres long and 0.8 kilometres wide in St. Bernard Parish, where Ochsner Health said eight patients were treated in an emergency department.
From the air, the Arabi twister's path of destruction reflected in a tight swath of homes that were roofless or reduced to splinters, the line of wreckage interrupted in spots where the tornado apparently skipped over buildings.
Collin Arnold, director of homeland security and emergency preparedness in New Orleans, described "incredible devastation" in Arabi, where he said a state team including fire, EMS and police officers from across Louisiana was doing searches and damage assessments.
Louisiana activated 300 National Guard personnel to clear roads and provide security and engineering support. They joined firefighters and others searching multiple structures to make sure no one had been left behind, said John Rahaim Jr., the parish's homeland security director.
Residents of severely damaged or destroyed homes in Arabi swept up broken glass and tried to salvage their belongings. The community next to the city's Lower 9th Ward was wrecked by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and hit hard again when Hurricane Ida swept through last year.
Residents took cover
Stacey Mancuso's family had just finished repairing damage from Ida, which ripped off the roof and caused extensive water damage. Huddling in the laundry room with her husband, two children and dogs, they all survived as the tornado blew away part of their new roof.
"We're alive. That's what I can say at this point," said Mancuso.
Entergy reported that about 3,700 of its customers remained without electricity Wednesday. A strong smell of natural gas was in the air and downed power lines forced emergency workers to walk slowly through the wreckage.
Michelle Malasovich was texting relatives from her home in Arabi when "all of a sudden the lights started flickering." Her husband saw the twister approaching.
"It just kept getting louder and louder," Malasovich said.
After it passed, they saw some columns were blown off their porch and her Jeep's windows were blown out.
Others fared worse: "Our neighbour's house is in the middle of the street right now."
The couple inside that home emerged from the wreckage seeking help to rescue their daughter, who was on a breathing machine and trapped inside, neighbours and authorities said.
St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis later said the girl was "doing fine."
Gene Katz said he, his wife and their two children hid in a closet as the tornado pushed their home off its slab and caved in the part where they took shelter.
"By the time we closed the door, the roof came off, and that was it," he said.
1 death, injuries reported in Texas
As the storm front moved eastward, an apparent twister shredded a metal building and shattered windows east of Mobile Bay in Baldwin County, Ala. The weather service reported more than 20 centimetres of rain fell in the central Alabama city of Sylacauga overnight. The roofs of several homes were damaged in Toxey, Ala., where tornado warnings were issued.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said a dozen counties had damage to homes and two injuries were reported.
The vicious weather hit Texas on Monday, where several tornadoes were reported along the Interstate 35 corridor.
In Elgin, Tex., broken trees lined the rural roads and pieces of metal uprooted by strong winds hung from the branches as residents stepped gingerly through the mess.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said 10 people were injured by storms in the Cxjmtzywrockett area, while more than a dozen were reportedly hurt elsewhere.
The Grayson County Emergency Management Office said a 73-year-old woman was killed in the community of Sherwood Shores, about 95 kilometres north of Dallas, but provided no details.
