Intense storms swept through the southeastern United States early Thursday morning, causing flash flooding, prompting tornado warnings, and even delaying the start of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. The powerful storm system, which began on Wednesday, has already claimed one life in Mississippi and caused significant damage to buildings and streets in the New Orleans area.
As the storms continued to move eastward, more than 100,000 customers were left without power nationwide, with over 30,000 of those outages occurring in Georgia alone. The Storm Prediction Center has issued warnings for parts of Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia, where residents could face tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail.
In Slidell, Louisiana, a tornado ripped through the city of about 28,000 people, tearing roofs off buildings and partially collapsing others. First responders had to rescue people trapped in an apartment building, but fortunately, no deaths or critical injuries were reported. The National Weather Service confirmed that the area was hit by an EF-1 tornado, with winds ranging from 86 to 110 mph.
New Orleans also experienced heavy rainfall, with close to 8 inches falling in some parts of the city. The city’s drainage system, which consists of pipes and pumps, faced challenges due to issues with its power generating system, forcing workers to divert power as needed to keep the streets from flooding.
A woman in central Mississippi died when a power outage shut down her oxygen machine, and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency reported that 72 homes were damaged.
In Texas, several people had to be rescued from homes and vehicles due to flooding in Jasper County, while a weak tornado caused damage to businesses and cars in a strip mall in the Houston suburb of Katy.
Despite the widespread damage and disruption caused by the storm system, Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen expressed gratitude that no lives were lost in the affected areas, with only minor injuries reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.