ATLANTA– Powerful storms pounded parts of the southeastern U.S. early Thursday, prompting some tornado warnings, causing flash flooding and delaying the start of one of the world’s biggest sporting events along the Georgia coast.
The storm system, which began Wednesday, is already responsible for at least one death in Mississippi, destroyed buildings and flooded streets in the New Orleans area. Flash flood and tornado warnings continued to appear in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina on Thursday.
More than 100,000 customers nationwide had no power early Thursday. That included more than 30,000 in Georgia, where bad weather continued, according to PowerOutage.us.
Forecasters now say parts of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia will be near a new area of concern on Thursday. Those areas could see some tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail, according to the latest outlook from the Storm Prediction Center.
In Augusta, Georgia, the start of the Masters golf tournament was postponed by at least an hour, tournament officials announced. They said they would monitor conditions all day Thursday.
Damage was reported from Texas to the Florida Panhandle.
A tornado struck Slidell, about 30 miles northeast of New Orleans, on Wednesday. It ripped roofs off buildings and partially collapsed others in and around the city of about 28,000 residents. Authorities said first responders had to rescue people trapped in an apartment building.
Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer estimated at a news conference Wednesday evening that about 75 homes and businesses were damaged. Parish President Mike Cooper estimated that hundreds more homes outside the city were damaged.
Police footage showed tree branches strewn across the streets and flooded yards that resembled swamps. Outside a McDonald’s restaurant, a car was on its side, utility poles were leaning and large pieces of the signature golden arches were scattered.
“I’ve never talked to God so much in my life,” Robin Marquez said after sitting with colleagues in a two-story building where the roof had been ripped off and the walls collapsed.
There were no reports of deaths or critical injuries in Slidell. The National Weather Service posted on social media Wednesday that initial investigations show the area was hit by an EF-1 tornado, with winds of 86 mph (138 kph) to 110 mph (177 kph).
Nearly 8 inches of rain fell in parts of New Orleans. It came as the system of pipes and pumps that drain the city suffered problems with the power generation system, forcing workers to divert power as needed.
“During heavy rain, the mission sometimes shifts from keeping the streets dry to draining them as quickly as possible,” the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board said in a statement.
A woman died in central Mississippi when a power outage knocked out her oxygen machine, officials said. According to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, 72 homes were damaged.
In Texas, several people were rescued from homes and vehicles early Wednesday as parts of Jasper County near the Louisiana line flooded, authorities said.
In the Houston suburb of Katy, heavy thunderstorms collapsed part of the roof of an auto repair shop. Storms also damaged businesses and cars in a strip mall, causing a large rooftop air conditioning unit to crash in the parking lot, officials said. It was preliminarily determined that some of the damage was caused by a weak tornado, officials said.
“We were blessed that no lives were lost,” Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen said. Only minor injuries were reported.
