Bertelina Martinez, who lives nearby and her son lives across the street, looks over destruction after a tornado struck the area in Arabi, La., Wednesday, March 23, 2022. ARABI, La. — — A powerful tornado took mere seconds to rip off roofs and destroy homes as it chiseled a path of destruction through a New Orleans area neighborhood where one man died, residents said Wednesday as they picked through wreckage and mourned their neighbor.
Gov. John Bel Edwards declared an emergency in St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes. After flying over the area Wednesday, he walked the streets in Arabi, greeting storm victims. “It took me a year to find my perfect house,” said Brown, an ICU nurse. She gestured toward the wreckage: “This is my perfect house.”
From the air, the Arabi twister’s path reflected in a tight swath of homes that were roofless or reduced to splinters, the wreckage line interrupted in spots where the tornado apparently skipped over buildings. Outside that destruction, homes appeared intact.Arabi is near New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward. Like that New Orleans neighborhood, it wasBaiamonte said he and his family had lived in Arabi when Katrina hit. They moved away, but returned a few years ago.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said a dozen counties had damage to homes and two injuries were reported.