East Coast, Midwest battered by strong storm systems

In Louisiana, at least two people have died at a trailer park in Convent where hundreds of trailers were destroyed by a likely tornado, according to the Associated Press.

Two people were killed there and more than 30 were taken to hospitals.

The St. James Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness said that first responders were still going door to door in the park in search of survivors. “We won’t stop searching until we’re satisfied we’ve searched every pile”.

Three people were hospitalized with minor injuries, Scott said at a press conference Wednesday morning.

To the west, a tornado ravaged an RV park in Convent, killing two people and injuring about 30 others. She was home with the flu, laying in her bed when she heard the sound of the tornado.

Turner “was a good dude” who sometimes came to Williams’ house to hang out and watch TV, Williams said.

He hadn’t received any reports of injuries but said emergency personnel are still assessing the storm’s effects.

Lamar County officials have confirmed to WDAM that there has been one fatality near Purvis, Mississippi.

The National Weather Service is investigating two distinct tornado paths that crossed through St. John the Baptist Parish in Louisiana.

Debris from a damaged water tower is shown in this handout photo provided on Wednesday by Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office, west of New Orleans, La.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service had to take cover Tuesday in a shelter in Slidell, Louisiana, because a tornado was nearby.

Stanley Langford, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said Thursday that he has lived in the Northern Neck farming community all of his 51 years and never has seen so much devastation. “I was so scared”, Portish said.

Taylor said another storm blew over her home about two years ago, so she instinctively knew “it’s coming” when the rain and wind started Wednesday.

“We felt the shockwave go through the building”, Graham said.

A resident in LaPlace, Louisiana, filmed the destruction at a local strip mall. Here’s a look at how other areas are preparing for this severe weather event. The state police said at least five structures have been destroyed.

A number of school districts in North Carolina let out early because of the severe weather.

The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning for the area, and radars indicated a twister in Waverly.

And in Pensacola, Florida, there were 3 buildings reported with heavy damage and reports of six injuries, according to the Escambia County website. Witnesses said that the storm swept through Waverly with little warning, the AP reported. The storm uprooted trees and damaged houses and a church.

The five other tornadoes were an EF-0, with winds of 65-85 miles per hour.

When he came to, he found that the mobile home he had been next to was demolished.

He said he struggled to keep his footing in the wind, and his wife was almost knocked down.

Speaking at the RV park in Convent, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards described the scene as a “jumbled mess”.

Thousands of people across the Gulf Coast region were without power and the threat of more tornadoes remained.

Severe storms and tornadoes ripping through swaths of the deep south and Florida.

Storm debris, downed trees and fallen power lines choked streets in the town of 2,300 people about 130 miles (210 km) south of Washington.

In Alabama and Georgia, forecasters issued flash flood watches ahead of the storm system, which was expected to drop 1 to 2 inches of rain, with higher amounts possible in some areas.

Strong to severe storms could develop as early as mid-morning Wednesday.