Terror struck New Orleans Feb. 13 as an early morning tornado touched down in neighborhoods still recovering from Hurricane Katrina’s onslaught in 2005.
The tornado, which apparently skipped across both sides of the Mississippi River, struck dangerously close to Westwego and Gentilly Baptist churches and just a few blocks from New Orleans Baptist Seminary.
The powerful line of storms, in addition to spawning a tornado, toppled trees, downed power lines and killed at least one woman.
The storms were particularly frightening for thousands of area residents still living in small, vulnerable FEMA trailers 18 months after Hurricane Katrina.
Southern Baptists were on the scene immediately, as volunteers and residents trained in disaster relief went into action.
A group of 96 volunteers, including groups from Arkansas, South Carolina, Kansas, Nebraska and Canada, returned home from New Orleans last week. Sixteen volunteers remained at Gentilly Baptist and were expected to be joined soon by a group of 70.
Several homes slated to be rebuilt by Arkansas Baptist Builders were also damaged.
Jackie and Linda James, of Arkansas Baptist Builders, speak with a victim of Hurricane Katrina who sustained more sorrows from a tornado Feb. 13.