A tornado slammed the southwestern town of Rayne, Louisiana on Saturday, killing one woman and injuring 11 other people.
Over 100 homes were either damaged or destroyed, and about 1,500 people were evacuated due to natural gas leaks.
According to Maxine Trahan, a spokeswoman for the Acadia Parish sheriff, the 21-year-old woman was killed when a tree fell on her house.
Rayne, home to about 8,500 people, was littered with debris after a series of powerful thunderstorms. Pieces of houses were scattered atop trees, and power lines were down.
The natural gas leaks were fixed, but delayed authorities in their attempt to count how many homes and businesses were destroyed.
"There are houses off their foundations," said State Police Trooper Stephen Hammons. "There are houses that have been destroyed."
The system that hit Rayne quickly moved east and drenched New Orleans, where several Mardi Gras parades were either delayed or canceled because of the violent weather.
