Severe storms and at least one tornado are impacting Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle bringing torrential rain and flooding on Wednesday that has so far taken one life, destroyed homes, left hundreds of thousands without power, and caused emergency evacuations.
The Slidell Police Department in Louisiana said it conducted more than 50 rescue missions as of 1:56 p.m. local time with the fire department. “We do have reports of minor to moderate injuries, those injured were transported to local area hospitals. We have water rescues and welfare checks still occurring as we speak,” said Sgt. Jake Morris in a video shared to Facebook. “This is a long process. This is something that we’re not used to dealing with but we’re knocking it out.”
Schools and offices were closed on Wednesday in Louisiana as more than 30 million people are under a severe storm threat, with some 13 million residents across several Louisiana cities—including Slidell, Pearl River, and Saint Joe—facing flash flood warnings. At least one tornado has already impacted Slidell, Louisiana.
The National Weather service warned residents across the greater New Orleans area to not drive. “A F[lash] F[lood] Emergency is in effect for the city and there is more rain on the way from the Southwest! Numerous roads across the metro are flooded/impassable,” the center said Wednesday afternoon.
In Louisiana, more than 125,000 customers were without power at 3:40 p.m. eastern time Wednesday, according to PowerOutage.us. More than 50,000 others in the neighboring Mississippi also lost power.
St. Tammany Parish, based in Mandeville, Louis., shared a video of the damage. “Multiple people have been transported to the hospital with injuries. Please avoid this area,” a Facebook post by the parish said. A separate video posted by the parish showed cleanup crews trying to clear the neighborhood of fallen trees and debris.
In Mississippi, the levee in the Eastbrook Subdivision in Yazoo City breached. The National Weather Service of Jackson, Miss. said the flash flood warnings for the towns of Greenwood, Grenada, and Winona would continue until 4 p.m. central time.
“I’m sad to announce that as a result of the severe weather, one death has been reported in Scott County, as well as one injury in Grenada County,” announced Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on X Wednesday afternoon. The governor asked for prayers before sharing reports of at least 72 homes having been either damaged or destroyed in Grenada, Hinds, Marshall, Scott, Warren, and Yazoo County.
Alabama schools closed early on Wednesday due to the storms. A tornado watch that will remain in effect until 9 p.m. eastern time was issued Wednesday in Tallahassee, Florida and surrounding areas. Flash flooding could bring in 2 inches of rainfall per hour along the Gulf Coast, the National Weather Prediction Center tweeted Wednesday.
