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Three hurt in La. twister as more storms batter Southeast

Last Update: 5/04 9:16 pm

(IDM) NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Three people are recovering from injuries from a tornado that plowed throw southern Louisiana, damaging nearly two dozen homes. Police say one woman was treated for a broken leg after she was struck by flying debris as she ran from her mobile home to her mother’s home. The two others have minor injuries. The National Weather Service says the tornado was up to 100 yards wide when it hit the area about 140 miles northwest of New Orleans. The storms unleashed heavy rain, which caused flooding in areas including West Virginia. Every road except for one was closed in Roane County. The rains have flooded an ambulance parking lot and knocked out power to thousands. Sunday’s storms are blamed for at least one death and possible tornadoes from Mississippi to Georgia. Emergency officials say at least 100 homes were damaged.

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Brothers rescue girl from tide

Matt Stamey/Staff

Paul (left) and Chris Watson talk about how they rescued a teen from drowning in Grand Isle on Good Friday.

By Daniel McBride
Staff Writer

Published: Friday, April 24, 2009 at 6:01 a.m. 
Last Modified: Friday, April 24, 2009 at 11:42 p.m.

HOUMA — Two young men from Houma were torn from their Grand Isle vacation on Good Friday when down the beach they heard screams — a girl had been caught in the undertow.

But brothers Paul and Chris Watson, 21 and 17 years old, responded quickly to help her.

The pair also kept her above water long enough to receive help from Grand Isle fire officials, who later said the duo saved the girl’s life.

“If they hadn’t gotten involved initially, she would have drowned,” said Grand Isle Fire Chief Aubrey Chaisson. “I really believe that.”

Paul Watson, who does offshore repair work in Lafayette, and Chris Watson, a junior at Vandebilt Catholic High School, traveled with family April 9 to Grand Isle. The next day the brothers visited the beach despite choppy waves and cool weather.

The two began body surfing near a pair of jetties, man-made rock formations running parallel to the beach.

Meanwhile Hannah Reece, a 16-year-old from Baton Rouge, was swimming with her sister and cousin about 50 yards away.

The girls caught the brothers’ attention, Paul said, when one began screaming. Hannah was caught in a powerful rip tide flowing between the jetties.

“I didn’t think anyone saw me go out there,” she said. “I was just praying and trying to stay afloat. … I’ve never been that scared before.”

The brothers said they both swam after her: Chris dove straight into the quick-moving water, while Paul headed to the jetty farther along the current’s path.

“It wasn’t like ‘I’m going to be a hero and save somebody,’ ” Chris said of the decision to plunge after Hannah. “It was just: ‘This girl looks like she really needs help.’ ”

Paul said he headed to the jetty because he thought he would be able to better assess the situation from there.

“I’m proud my little brother went in head-first,” he said.

Paul and Chris, both veteran competitive swimmers, said the current was unlike anything they had ever experienced. Chris said the powerful tide was “humbling,” and Paul said he’d never known an undertow like that at Grand Isle.

“It was the first time I swam against a current I couldn’t beat,” Paul said.

Chris found the girl clinging to a barnacle-covered structure on the sea-facing side of the jetty, he said. It was a pyramid of three wooden pilings, with horizontal bars for posting signs. Paul reached the jetty and jumped in the water to help.

“All of a sudden I saw a hand reach out to me from nowhere,” Hannah said. “I grabbed it, and he pulled me toward him.”

With Chris pulling her up, and Paul pushing from underneath they managed to lift Hannah onto the horizontal bars, using the bars like ladder rungs. She was in shock, they said.

“You could tell she was in panic,” Paul said. “She kicked me a couple of times.”

Paul fell off the piling and swam back around to the jetty. He stayed there, yelling encouragement to the Hannah and Chris.

“I told Chris to tell the girl they ran out of good looking life guards,” Paul recalled, “and had to send us.”

Chris said he was too filled with adrenaline to feel the barnacles cutting into his feet.

“My only thought was to hold onto her,” he said.

After about 15 minutes, Grand Isle fire rescuers arrived on personal watercraft. After a few false starts, they got Hannah off the pilings.

But almost immediately, the rough waves caused the vessel to flip. Chaisson said he held onto Hannah and was able to push her back onto the watercraft “Western style, like throwing her on the back of a stallion.”

Paul swam to shore, and Chris did the same after firefighters gave him a life vest.

Alice and John Watson, parents of Paul and Chris, said they were proud of their children.

Alice credited their experience on swimming teams — something common among all the Watson children — with giving her sons an edge in the situation.

“I truly believe that had they not been such strong swimmers, it would have been a different outcome,” she said.

Though the brothers said they have no formal rescue training, John said his children know more about water safety than they may think.

“Consciously or not, (they’re) aware of other kids swimming,”

he said. “I’m proud of (Paul and Chris). I don’t know what else I can say.”

Chaisson said beach visitors must be aware of their surroundings to avoid dangerous conditions like those on April 10.

“You can come here and enjoy Grand Isle, you just got to use your common sense,” said Chaisson, who advised that large waves and fast winds are warning signs. “That’s a recipe right there. You got to use your head.”

Everyone involved said it is important to remember not to try and swim against the current — a mistake Hannah made that she said wore her out. Both Hannah said the key is to stay calm during a life-or-death situation, something Paul and Chris helped her to do.

“I was really grateful,” Hannah said. “I’m glad I’m alive and I need to be safe and not take things for granted.”

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7-Foot Gator Loose In Orleans Parish Park

Nuisance Hunter Captures 2 Of 3 Gators Reported At Brechtel Park

POSTED: 6:15 pm CDT April 23, 2009
UPDATED: 6:54 pm CDT April 23, 2009

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Park workers on Thursday tried to oust an unwelcome visitor inside a popular Algiers park.

 

A 7-foot alligator was still on the loose in Brechtel Park as of Thursday evening. 

“It’s very much a common problem,” said park attendee Perrier Sanchez. “They’ve got alligators at Audubon Park, City Park, Brechtel Park.” 

At Brechtel Park, three large alligators recently tried turning a lagoon into their summer home. 

“The park spotted them and was concerned for safety, so they asked us to try and get rid of them,” said Shane Granier, of Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries. 

Lt. Edward Skena with Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries said agents were first notified about the problem in February and hired a nuisance hunter to capture the trespassers. But so far, the hunter has only caught two. 

“The two he caught were between 6 and 7 feet, and he has been unable to locate the third,” Skena said. “It’s between 7 and 8 feet, and he’s still trying to catch it.” 

Skena said that’s just two of about 20 gators they’ve captured this year in Orleans Parish, but park-like settings make the job much more difficult. 

Wildlife and Fisheries employees said they have to catch the alligator by hand. They’re unable to set traps because they want to protect other wildlife and small children. 

“You can’t leave those things unattended, those lines,” Skena said. “There’s a large, sharp hook, and you don’t want children to come in contact with that.” 

Instead, the hunter will fish for the gator. But Skena said, until the gator is captured, guests should use common sense. Don’t feed the alligator and keep children and small pets away from the water’s edge. 

“Basically, if you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you — that’s the way I see it,” Sanchez said. 

Wildlife and Fisheries agents said they will continue to receive gator sightings as the temperatures rise, but they have had no reports of gator attacks in Orleans Parish.

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Man survives lightning strike at bass tournament on Rayburn

Comments 0 | Recommend 8

April 20, 2009 – 12:18 PM

posted by: Scott Lawrence

From Mike Lout/KJAS 

Doctors at the Louisiana State University Medical Center at Shreveport are saying that a man who was fishing in the McDonald’s Big Splash Bass Tournament on Saturday is lucky to be alive after his boat was struck by lightning.

58 year old Dale Nash and friend Tommy Young, both of whom live on the Louisiana side of Toledo Bend Reservoir, not far from Toledo Town, were fishing on Saturday afternoon on the northeast side of Lake Sam Rayburn when lighting hit the boat they were sitting in.

The strike reportedly not only threw Nash out of the boat, but also ripped all of his clothes from his body. However, a friend who was fishing nearby, Eddie Gongre, also of Louisiana, jumped into the water and rescued Nash and took him to shore where he could be transferred to an ambulance. Young was also injured but did not require treatment. However, Nash received 1st and 2nd degree burns to an estimated 15% of his body and is still undergoing treatment but said to be recovering.

Witnesses said the bolt was so strong that other anglers as far as 400 yards away experienced a shock or tingle. The strike burned the pedestal part of the seat and also caused the control unit of a trolling motor to explode.

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Florida wins, hands down.

# 1	Florida:	337
# 2	Texas:	15
= 3	Georgia:	9
= 3	South Carolina:	9
# 5	Alabama:	5
# 6	Louisiana:	2
= 7	Arkansas:	1
= 7	North Carolina:	1

DEFINITION: Number of documented alligator attacks since 1948. There have been 17 fatal attacks in Florida and one fatal attack in Georgia. Additional deaths which were previously reported have been ruled out because the wounds appeared to be post-mortem. The most common cases were lacerations or scratches on the hands, whereas the most common activity attributed to the attack was an attempt to capture, pick up or exhibit the alligator. Other common activities that led to an alligator attack were swimming, fishing activities and retrieving golf balls.

SOURCE: Alligator Attacks on Humans in the United States, Ricky L. Langley, MD, MPH. Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, 16, 119 124 (2005). Additional figures taken from news reports.

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Much of state under tornado watch

Lightning strikes Madison Co. home

By Nicklaus Lovelady
nicklaus.lovelady@jackson.gannett.com

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for all of central and southern Mississippi until 9 p.m. The advisory includes Hinds, Rankin and Madison counties.

Severe weather is moving across the state from Louisiana and is responsible for quarter- and half dollar-sized hail in the Delta and Sunflower County, meteorologist Joanne Culin said.

“It’s packing a lot of lightning, wind gusts and hail,” she said.

Madison County Emergency Management Coordinator Butch Hammack said lightning struck a home on Cox Ferry Road. No injuries were reported.

Rain chances will remain in the forecast for the Jackson area until about 4 a.m., Culin said.

Monday is expected to be clear until the evening hours when a low pressure system from the Texas Panhandle will bring another round of thunderstorms, Culin said.

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Significant Tornadoes expected in Louisiana on Easter Sunday

April 12, 1:27 AM

Saturday’s storms were finally limited to a small area, and better yet there were no tornado reports! There were just a handful of hail and wind reports, which is a nice change since the previous two days both had deadly tornadoes.

Unfortunately Sunday may be back into the tornado-realm of things, with ongoing convection turning into redevelopment in the afternoon hours over parts of eastern and southeastern Texas and all of Louisiana. This is the area that should see the most significant coverage of severe storms–and tornadoes. In fact, the Storm Prediction Center has southern Louisiana under a Moderate Risk for severe weather on Sunday. They also outline a larger area for a slight risk for severe storms across all of Eastern Texas, Southern Oklahoma eastward through Southern Arkansas and Mississippi.

On the map I have outlined the SPC’s severe risk areas as well as the area I’m most focused in on. Note that in Southwestern Louisiana the SPC’s Moderate Risk area overlaps with my interest area. Therefore, the threat seems most significant in that area by consensus. Here is where significant tornadoes may be possible in the late afternoon hours.

For storm chasers, the areas farther north into Arkansas and Oklahoma seem less appealing to me. Moisture and moisture depth will be significantly lacking, however very cold mid levels may be able to compensate for the lack of moisture. With good instability in these areas there could be some storms, and that must be what the SPC is homing in on in those areas.

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This is a truly tragic story from Louisiana.  It’s always best to remember that, especially around children, dogs can quickly revert back to their wild past.

3 dogs kill 4-year-old boy in his Pointe Coupee Parish yard

by The Associated Press  

Saturday April 11, 2009, 2:19 PM

MORGANZA, La. — Pointe Coupee Parish sheriff’s deputies say three dogs killed a 4-year-old boy who was playing in his own yard, and injured a man who tried to rescue the child.

Sheriff’s Capt. Steve Juge said Michael Landry was airlifted to a hospital in New Roads, nine miles away, but died there from his injuries. Morganza is about 40 miles northwest of Baton Rouge.

Landry did not identify the man, who was hospitalized.

Juge said at least one of the dogs belonged to a next-door neighbor who had let it out of a kennel to eat. Animal control officers took all three dogs.

Juge said deputies would turn over their report to the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for review.

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Even though people think earthquakes only occur on the West Coast, they have and will occur in other parts of the United States.

Earthquakes In The Midwestern and Eastern United States?!

Most people think that earthquakes occur only in places like California, Alaska, and Japan. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Several major and numerous minor earthquakes have occurred in the midwestern and eastern United States, as well as eastern Canada. Some of the earthquakes that have caused notable damage in these areas are listed below.

• 1663 & 1870, St. Lawrence River region, Canada
• 1755, Boston/Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Earthquake estimated to be magnitude 6.0; buildings damaged.
• 1811 & 1812 – New Madrid, Missouri, experienced the three largest earthquakes known to have occurred in North America (magnitudes estimated between 7.2 and 8.3) and 203 damaging aftershocks. Soil liquefaction occurred.
• 1886, Charleston, South Carolina. Estimated magnitude 6.8. Soil liquefaction occurred. Extensive damage; 60 people or more died. Over 400 aftershocks over the next 30 years.
• 1895, Charleston, Missouri
• 1897, Giles County, Virginia
• 1884, New York City area
• 1931 — Valentine, Texas, had a magnitude 6.4 earthquake, the largest earthquake to hit Texas in historic times.
• 1935, Timiskaming, Ontario (Canada)
• 1947 — Michigan experienced a magnitude 4.4 earthquake.
• 1979 & 1980 – New York State and the adjacent areas experienced 131 earthquakes of magnitude 1 to 5.
• 1980, 5 earthquakes recorded north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 1980, Kentucky shaken by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake.
• 1982 — New Brunswick, Canada, had a magnitude 5.7 earthquake.
• 1982 — Arkansas earthquake swarm starts. Eighty-eight earthquakes between June 24 and July 5, 1982. Four earthquakes with magnitudes of 4.0 to 4.5 during first 3 months of swarm. Total of about 40,000 earthquakes in the area (most very small or not felt) between 1982 and 1985.
• 1983 – Lake Charles, Louisiana, experienced a magnitude 3.8 earthquake.
• 1983 — Indiana had a magnitude 5.9 earthquake.
• 1986 — Painesville, Ohio, experienced a magnitude 4.9 earthquake and several aftershocks. The earthquake was felt in 11 states.
• 1987 — Southeastern Illinois experienced a magnitude 5.2 earthquake. This area has had 7 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater since 1892.

You probably noticed that in the list above, the magnitudes of earthquakes that took place in the 1800′s are described as “estimated.” This is because these earthquake events took place before the Richter magnitude scale was put in place. The approximation is made by a study of accounts of the earthquake which are correlated with the damage described in theMercalli intensity scale, which, as you may recall, allows a classification of an earthquake’s magnitude by ordinary people (not just seismologists). The descriptions may come even from personal correspondance of average citizens and include telling details about the damage the earthquake caused.

Over 900,000 earthquakes occur worldwide each year. Fortunately, the vast majority of them are magnitude 2.5 or less, and great earthquakes (magnitude 8.0 or more) only happen about once every 5 to 10 years. Most of these great quakes occur along the plate boundaries, not in the eastern and midwestern U.S.

A few areas of the midwestern and eastern United States are more prone to earthquakes than others. The most earthquake-prone areas include Charleston, South Carolina, eastern Massachusetts, the St. Lawrence River area, and the central Mississippi River Valley. Others sections of this part of the country are prone to earthquakes, but can expect fewer quakes of smaller magnitude. Below is a map showing the risk of damage by earthquakes for the continental United States.

FIGURE 1 (MODIFIED FROM STEARNS & MILLER, 1977)

The central Mississippi River Valley and the Charleston, South Carolina, are more prone to damage during earthquakes than the northern part of the country. These areas have sandy soils that shake more than solid rock, resulting in damage from subsidence during an earthquake. The high water tables along the Mississippi and near the coast also increase the risk of soil liquefaction during strong earthquakes.

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Sure do seem to be a ton of tornadoes touching down around the U.S.

Tornadoes confirmed in Shreveport, Bossier City

FROM STAFF REPORTS • APRIL 10, 2009
The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado or tornadoes hit Cross Lake north of Shreveport and Bossier City Thursday night.

 

An EF2 tornado touched down near Cross Lake. EF2 tornadoes have wind speeds of 111-135 miles per hour.

 

An EF1 tornado — touched down in Bossier City on and possibly near Barksdale Air Force Base. An EF1 tornado packs winds of 86 to 110 miles an hour.

 

Barksdale officials reported a 100-yard-wide track on base and damage to trees and houses there, said Christian Stapleton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Shreveport.

 

National Weather Service teams are still surveying damage from Thursday night’s storms throughout the region.

 

Their areas of focus is along the Interstate 20 corridor across north Louisiana, Sevier and Howard counties in Arkansas and throughout East Texas.

Weather Service employees, trained storm spotters, ham radio operators, law enforcement and others reported tornadoes and hail from Shreveport to Monroe.

 

At least two local injuries were reported. A male, age unknown, was hurt in the Lakeview area on the northeast side of Cross Lake. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

 

On Ashton Street, in Shreveport, a car fell on a car, trapping a woman.
Emergency responders also said 10-15 rail cars were blown off the tracks along Interstate 220 near Cross Lake.