[StBernard] Strong winds cause damage in St. Bernard Parish

[Westley Annis]

Strong winds cause damage in St. Bernard Parish
wwltv.com
Posted on February 21, 2014 at 5:26 PM
Updated yesterday at 6:43 PM
WWLTV.com
Email: webteam at wwltv.com | Twitter: @WWLTV

ST. BERNARD PARISH, La. - Heavy winds damaged houses, vehicles and utility
lines on several streets in Meraux, Chalmette and Violet early Friday
morning, according to the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office. 

While no injuries were reported, residents of St. Bernard Parish told
stories of seeing what they believe were tornadoes, causing damage to their
homes and vehicles between 1:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. According to the sheriff's
office, the National Weather Service hasn't confirmed whether the strong
winds and rains that ripped through the parish contained tornadoes touching
down.
Eric Blache, who lives on Judy Drive in Meraux, said a rear glassed-in room
exploded from apparent pressure, breaking glass and pushing walls outward.
He said he struggled to keep a door closed separating the rear room from the
rest of the house, and his home suffered roof damage, said the sheriff's
office.

A few blocks from Blache, Catherine Washington said she was awakened by the
sound of her back patio cover blowing against a rear door and saw the cover
blown to the ground in the 2400 block of Walkers Lane. "It totally took it
off,'' she said.

According to the sheriff's office, Ronnie Barattini and John Stroebel, two
neighbors on Judy Drive, said they were awoken and saw from their homes the
destruction that took  place, believing it was a tornado.

Barattini's patio cover was blown away and its support posts pulled from the
ground.

A carport on Judy Drive was torn from a home and knocked down. On Bayou Road
in eastern St. Bernard, Shane Lulei, a sheriff's deputy, had a tree fall on
his private vehicle during heavy wind after 2 a.m. He said he saw a
trampoline blown in the air about 50 feet, said the sheriff's office.