Photos reveal the damage after 7 tornadoes rip through Gulf Coast

Tuesday’s tornado caused major damage to numerous homes and businesses in LaPlace.

Twenty-four homes were destroyed at an apartment complex in Pensacola.

The rough weather ripped through Pensacola on Tuesday evening and Scott toured the affected areas on Wednesday morning.

Angela Barrows is with the management company that owns the complex. She says they were fortunate more people weren’t hurt.

States of emergency have been declared in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

At least 18 tornadoes struck the southern US, leaving three dead and more than 30 hospitalized.

The National Weather Service has confirmed that at least seven tornadoes hit Mississippi Tuesday. At least 88 million people along the East Coast were at some sort of risk of severe weather Wednesday, the Storm Prediction Center said.

Two of those individuals were reportedly killed in an especially hard hit mobile home park in Convent, Louisiana. Additionally, three people are still missing, even after an all-night search through debris and rubble by the police, St. James Parish Sheriff Willy Martin said.

Fire officials in Montgomery County in Maryland say a man was rescued after a basement wall collapsed on him in a Silver Spring home Wednesday night.

Three people are being treated for critical injuries at Centra Southside Community Hospital in Farmville and two others have minor injuries.

“We could hear something not right”, said Tim Smith, who was in a trailer when the tornado hit. Then he heard what sounded like a freight train. He described rain blowing sideways, wind bending trees and hail coming down while the storm swept through.

Gusty winds will accompany the rain and snow from the storm, AccuWeather said.

“This is some of the worst damage that I’ve seen in my 36 years with the state police”, Edmonson said. The warnings, which covered large parts of both states, were expected to be in effect through Wednesday afternoon.

Areas in the Treasure Coast are being warned of strong winds beginning as early as this morning and are under a wind advisory between 9 a.m.to 6 p.m.

Threat Areas: Bands of severe thunderstorms are possible through around midnight in the Delmarva peninsula, Virginia Tidewater and eastern North Carolina. Wind gusts may be particularly strong, reaching 70mph or more.

Schools in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida cancelled classes or shifted hours ahead of predicted severe weather in those states.

Two of the reported deaths occurred in a St. James Parish, La., recreational vehicle park and one death occurred in a Lamar County, Miss., mobile home.

According to The Weather Channel, tornadoes were reported in Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas.

Emergency officials and the National Weather Service said the reported tornado was spotted near Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in the suburban city of Kenner.

That number includes the ones in Convent and Purvis, he said.

In Assumption Parish, a tornado knocked down a water tower and damaged homes, said Deputy Robert Martin of the Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Chilly air that will drop temperatures 10 to 20 degrees is pushing into the region as the storms move east, the National Weather Service said.

“We felt the shockwave go through the building”, said Ken Graham of the National Weather Service.

Another tornado destroyed 24 units and damaged six others at The Moorings Apartments in Pensacola, Florida.

There were additional reports of survivors being taken to hospitals in private cars, and other ambulance operators were responding to the emergency, indicating the tally of injuries would likely climb higher.

Apartment resident Milan Smith told the newspaper two buildings lost their roofs.

In Prairieville, the storm ripped the roof off the gym as people quickly halted their workouts.

Residents were being bused to a nearby shelter operated by the American Red Cross.

Ronald Myers lives across the street from New Mount Bethel Baptist Church, where and his wife are members.

Authorities are investigating the possibility that high winds caused a vacant three-story building in the Bronx to collapse.