Loyola University • New Orleans • Volume 95 • Issue 17 • February 10, 2017
the Maroon For a greater Loyola
OSAMA AYYAD / The Maroon
A tornado-damaged structure is illuminated by passing New Orleans Police Department vehicles on Chef Menteur Highway Feb. 7, 2017. Residents evacuated injured community members and disconnected propane lines as a precautionary measure.
Tornadoes wreak havoc in New Orleans By Osama Ayyad and Marisabel Rodriguez oaayyad@loyno.edu and mrodrigu@loyno.edu @ was7eed_mu3tazil and @mar_rodzz
Tuesday morning, Jordan Clayton, an equipment operator for Hayward Baker Construction Company, was building drainage infrastructures on Florida Avenue in the 9th Ward. He said he and most of his coworkers received a tornado warning and promptly ignored it. Not much later, the owner of Parc D’Orleans, a trailer park on Chef Menteur Highway in New Orleans East, called him and told him the park was hit. “He said ‘your trailer was upside down,’” Clayton said. “I asked him about my truck, but he said it was alright, and luckily, there isn’t a scratch on it.” Clayton had lived in his trailer for less than two weeks upon returning to the city. He travels to New Orleans for work. On their way to the park from Florida Avenue, one of Clayton’s
co-workers, Christian Nibert, called his wife in Columbia, Mississippi, to let her know he was OK. Once they arrived, they got back to work. “Every time there is some kind of disaster, everybody instinctively comes together,” Nibert said. “We helped everybody get to the front. We helped one lady who thought she broke a rib to the EMTs. The EMTs got here quick. Their response time was immediate.” Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency in multiple Southeast Louisiana parishes after several tornadoes injured 33 and destroyed around 300 properties Feb. 7. Within hours, members of the New Orleans East community again exemplified their resilience in the face of a natural disaster. Clayton said he and others helped neighbors get to their medications. After helping others, John, another of Clayton’s co-workers, realized Benjamin, his boxer, was missing. “We didn’t find the dog,” Nibert said. “That’s when I noticed that my
trailer wasn’t where it was supposed to be, and I saw my propane tank.” Nibert, Clayton and others then went around the park to make sure all the propane tanks were disconnected. Few at the trailer park said they were lucky enough to salvage some kind of shelter. Shayne Briney, a crane operator at a nearby refinery, had help from a neighbor to re-lift his trailer and install a new footing. “We’re alive,” Briney said. Briney said he was thankful that his and the adjacent trailers were spared much of the 136-165 mph wind damage, due to their proximity to the only fixed structure in the park. “The building took most of the damage,” Briney said as he pointed to the severely damaged two-story structure. Down the highway from the park, the tornado left nothing behind but the destruction of five businesses that had been there eariler. Raymond Steven, a barber at Hot
Spot Barber Shop and Salon II, said he came to see if he could salvage the Chef Menteur location. “There was a Metro PCS store, a cash and loan shop, and a Mexican restaurant here,” Steven said. “Its all gone now. The back wall is completely blown off.” Members from the store's other location on Simon Bolivar Avenue gathered what they could take in their cars. “It came up and blew it all away,” Steven said. “It’s over with.” Less than 50 yards away, members of the Pentecostal Christian Church of New Orleans gathered near their place of worship. One of the followers, Alberto Hernandez said he felt that he had to be there. “We are here to see what we can do for the church,” Hernandez said. “We want to begin fixing the damage.” Pastor Windsor Semexant, the church’s minister, spoke about what he thought the church needed. “It doesn’t matter that we don’t have water,” Semexant said. “What
matters is your presence. We want to embrace you, give you our love and let you know that we are here for you.” Mario Martinez, a student at Knowledge Is Power Program Renaissance High School, lives down the street from Parc D’Orleans and was in class when the tornado hit his neighborhood. Shortly before noon, Martinez said KIPP Renaissance teachers moved students to a designated shelter area and allowed them to use their cell phones to contact family members and arrange for transportation. “The school buses dropped us off at the Lowe’s on Chef Menteur,” Martinez said. “My mom picked me up there.” Martinez said he won’t have power at home until Sunday. Approximately, 10,400 properties lost power Tuesday night, a New Orleans City Hall press release said.
See TORNADO, page 7