BATON ROUGE- The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Crisis Action Team has been activated in order to address any requests for support from parishes and other state agencies due to today’s tornadic activity.
Seven areas across southeast Louisiana sustained possible tornado damage during several rounds of storms throughout Tuesday. Governor John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency and FEMA preliminary damage assessment teams are scheduled to begin work tomorrow in impacted areas in order to help determine what levels of Federal assistance will be available.
There have been 28 reported injuries in the New Orleans region due to the storms and nine more have been reported in the Baton Rouge region. Two injuries were reported in the Northshore region.
No deaths have been reported as a result of the severe weather.
“The numerous alerts provided by the media, the National Weather Service, local agencies and state agencies likely saved lives considering the widespread damage across the region," GOHSEP Director James Waskom said.
"We may continue to see more severe weather systems like today’s storms due to our unusually warm winter. Please stay out of the damaged areas so that first responders and utility crews can complete their work."