Louisiana Tornado Injures 3, Damages 3 Homes

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A 110-mph tornado in Tickfaw, La. injured three people, damaged eight houses and uprooted hardwood trees, authorities said.

The twister hit about 3:30 a.m. Sunday in Tickfaw, which is about 50 miles northwest of New Orleans, according to the National Weather Service.

One person was taken to North Oaks Hospital and the other two had “very minor injuries,” Tangipahoa Parish sheriff’s spokeswoman Dawn Panepinto told NOLA.com The Times-Picayune.

The tornado flipped one mobile home, destroyed another, and uprooted at least a dozen hardwood trees along a path a mile long and 50 yards wide, the weather service said in a storm report.

More than two dozen residents of the Woodhaven subdivision were displaced, WVUE-TV reported.

The weather service said a storm survey confirmed an EF-1 tornado and estimated peak wind speed at 110 mph.

Three homes were destroyed or had major damage, and another five had less significant damage, Malone said.

Malone said the Tangipahoa damage should be a wake-up call for people to make sure they’re ready for natural emergencies, even before the hurricane season starts on June 1.

“Weather’s happening when people are not expecting it and I’m not sure we’re all prepared the way we need to be,” she said. “Don’t wait until June 1st to get ready. It’s been a hard month, storm after storm after storm.”