Residents and Businesses Recover from Devastating Tornado in Central Louisiana

A devastating tornado tore through businesses and homes of Central Louisiana.

Residents are going through the wreckage of the storm.

The Morales family was devastated by the damage to their home.

Karla Morales says, “My mom and her two dogs just stayed in the bathroom to take shelter. They were really scared. And I don’t know if they have electricity now, but she hasn’t had electricity since last night.”

Karla says their mom’s car was parked in the garage, but it remained untouched by the storm.

“I wasn’t here but my mom was here when it happened. We had a garage over there and it just completely destroyed everything. The owners of that greenhouse over there. They also had a lot of destruction over there.”

They have some minor roofing damage, but most of the house is still intact.

“We’re not too sure about the plans with the garage right now. That’s up to the owners and how they want to rebuild everything, but they are probably going to repair all the posts and stuff at least.”

The family is a little shaken up, but they are thankful to be alive.

Keisha Swafford, News Reporter says, “Around 11 o’clock late last night, a tornado hit Sayes Office Supply. No one was hurt but there has been severe structural damage. They are trying everything they can to save what was lost.”

Owner of Sayes Office Supply, Cindy Sayes says, “There was no roof, and you can see the product all over the floor and so we came back this morning at daylight where we could really see and it’s devastating, it’s completely gone.”

Cindy Sayes says all their offices were damaged and it will take some time to repair.

It will take weeks for Central Louisiana to recover from the tornado.