Updated: No injuries after tornado strikes between Franklin, Baldwin

What witnesses are calling a tornado struck this afternoon between Baldwin and Franklin, damaging about 30 homes and tearing the roofs from two businesses, said Duval Arthur, the St. Mary director of homeland security.

No one was injured directly by the storm. But one 83-year-old man was taken to a local hospital as a precaution after experiencing chest pains, Arthur said.

Some residents were without power after the suspected twister blew down several Cleco utility poles.

"Cleco will probably be out here all night," Arthur said Tuesday.

At the height of the storm, Cleco had 524 customers without power in St. Mary Parish, Cleco Spokeswoman Jennifer Cahill said. The majority of customers had power restored by 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, she said. Six customers stayed without power overnight. All outages were a result of the tornado that touched down, Cahill said.

The west end of St. Mary Parish had a lot of street flooding because that area had "too much rain for the pumps," Arthur said. Arthur was told west St. Mary got about 3 inches of rain Tuesday.

The National Weather Service in Lake Charles wouldn't confirm that a tornado had touched down. Doppler radars can sometimes pick up wind patterns characteristic of tornadoes, but St. Mary's distance from the closest Dopplers means they can't pick up information below 10,000 feet, according to the service.

The service had indications of a heavy storm with possible hail about 2:30 p.m. in the St. Mary Parish area, said service meteorologist Kent Kuyper. Confirmation will have to wait for an onsite inspection Wednesday.

Arthur is confident the inspection will confirm that a tornado touched down. He said a crew at Gulf Craft LLC, a Franklin-based maker of crew boats, saw the tornado at about 2:30 p.m. The tornado damaged 28 homes and two businesses, Arthur said.

The tornado moved from southwest to northeast and touched down in the area near Genevieve Street between Franklin and Baldwin, Arthur said.

"You can clearly see the path of the tornado," Arthur said.

There are no plans to open a shelter for those whose homes were destroyed, Arthur said. The Office of Homeland Security donated 20 tarps to protect damaged homes from the rain, he said.

The residents weren't waiting for help.

"The people here are going to hunker down," Arthur said. "They were working together and helping each other. It's amazing to see.

"They were busy cleaning up when we got here."

Arthur said officials made the correct decision not to close St. Mary Parish public schools.

"We preach going to schools for safe shelter," Arthur said. Keeping students and faculty in school was safer than trying to send students home in the middle of the day, he said.

No storm-related or flooding issues were reported in east St. Mary Parish, Arthur said.

WBRZ in Baton Rouge is reporting that a tornado ripped through a St. James Parish RV park. The station said one person was killed.

The Associated Press reported that Jefferson Parish emergency officials and the National Weather Service say a suspected tornado spotted at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport apparently touched down Tuesday in a field near a suburban neighborhood.

It was part of a line of severe weather passing through Southeast Louisiana. It is believed to be one of many wind storms and possible tornadoes sparked around the greater New Orleans area including possible sightings north of Lake Pontchartrain and west of the city in St. Charles Parish.

There were no reports of any injuries, but wind damage to homes and businesses has been reported. There were reports of cars damaged at a parking lot near the airport.

Ronald Myers lives across the street from New Mount Bethel Baptist Church in Kenner, where and he and his wife are members. He recalled the sky darkening and high winds — he believes it was a tornado. They came outside when they heard the church's alarm go off.

"My wife came over to turn the alarm off and she came back home and said, 'Baby, the wall behind the church has done fell down.'"

Myers is convinced it was a tornado. He said he struggled to keep his footing in the wind, and his wife was nearly knocked down.

"I weigh 242 pounds. If it could move me, it was moving," he said.

Louisiana Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne ordered all state offices to close in 17 parishes: Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana.

The closures will affect early voting, which will reopen at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.