A south Louisiana parish is declaring a state of emergency after a tornado killed one person and injured seven in Palmetto on April 10.
St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard said on Facebook that two of the injured people remained hospitalized on Sunday. One person could have surgery, but both are expected to recover. The other five injured people have recovered and are helping clean up their properties.
The National Weather Service said the EF-3 tornado had peak winds of 140 mph and a path that ran for 8.7 miles. Officials said 28-year-old Jose Antonio Higareda died from injuries in the storm.
Bellard said the official declaration was to be filed on April 12. He’s asking people with damaged properties to make reports to the state, completing an online damage assessment form at damage.la.gov. That could help St. Landry Parish residents get federal assistance, Bellard said.
Sunday, crews began salvaging damaged homes and placing tarps on roofs with the help of jail trusties and parish employees.
“You should see the people out here today, they’re picking up, they’re cleaning up the debris, they’re doing whatever needs to be done,” Bellard said.
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