As catastrophic storms tore across southern Louisiana on Monday, killing three people—including a pregnant mother and her unborn child—and severely damaging many houses and businesses in the area, officials have confirmed three tornadoes.
Two of the tornadoes made landfall around Lake Charles.
The first struck Sulphur, just west of Lake Charles, at 4:41 p.m. CT, causing damage close to a Walmart store. Cars that had been wrecked or flipped could be seen in the strip mall parking lot across from the Walmart.
Additionally affected were the nearby warehouses. With maximum winds of 120 mph, the National Weather Service rated this tornado an EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
Four minutes later, the second one started in the Westlake neighborhood and proceeded southeastward into the heart of Lake Charles. There have been reports of window damage and roof damage to nearby businesses and a church.
The highest wind speed recorded for this EF-1 tornado was 100 mph. About two hours later, in Henderson, which is located about 90 miles east of Lake Charles, there was a third tornado.
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According to officials, a woman’s injuries from her camper being flipped by the storm claimed her life. At its strongest, the Henderson tornado reached 120 mph and was classified as an EF-2.
A sad occurrence happened in West Baton Rouge Parish late on Monday. A 31-year-old pregnant lady was killed when a tree fell on her mobile home, according to Sheriff Mike Cazes of the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.
According to a news release from the Louisiana Department of Health, “the female was nine months pregnant at the time of her death. The fetus did not survive and is being counted as the third storm-related death.”
According to Cazes, a 5-year-old child and a man who were also trapped inside the house were safely freed and sent to the hospital, where they are anticipated to make a full recovery.
