Tornadoes hit Katrina-affected areas of New Orleans by Matt Taylor
Five months after Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans, tornadoes have hit neighbourhoods still trying to clean up.
Early on Thursday morning a line of severe thunderstorms moved across southern Louisiana State, generating high winds that brought down trees and power lines. But as well as straight-line winds, the storms generated three tornadoes in the New Orleans area.
The first tornado struck the Louis Armstrong International Airport in Jefferson County. Damage was caused to the roofs of several buildings, and the electricity was knocked out to the airport for most of the morning. Flights were grounded and passengers had to wait in a dimly-lit terminal powered by generators. One eyewitness said that more damage was caused by the tornado than had been caused by Katrina.
Another tornado was reported less than ten minutes later in eastern Jefferson County, just west of New Orleans city. The tornado tore the roofs off several trailers near a hospital in Metairie, injuring one person.
The third tornado struck the Lakeview neighbourhood in New Orleans, an area which was badly affected by Katrina and was left under three metres of water from Lake Pontchartrain when the levees failed. At least one hurricane-damaged house collapsed and roofs were ripped off several more.
The weather has quietened down now across New Orleans, but dense fog will be a problem for the rush hour on Friday morning.
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