Two Tornadoes Tear Through New Orleans Causing 'Widespread Damage'

A pair of tornadoes ripped through New Orleans on Tuesday (March 22) night, leaving at least one person dead. One of the tornadoes touched down in New Orleans East, causing "widespread damage" in the community of Arabi in St. Bernard Parish.

Several injuries were reported in addition to the one death, but officials said it could have been much worse as the tornado tore through a populated area leveling multiple homes in its path.

"When you see the path of this tornado, that is an absolute miracle," St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis told NBC's TODAY.

McInnis said that people aren't used to dealing with tornadoes.

"We're used to hurricanes. We're just recovering from Ida and Zeta, and we're still recovering from Katrina," McInnis said. "You know, we see houses that were lifted off their foundations and sitting in the middle of the street … but the spirit of our people, the resilience of our citizens, will shine through today like we always do."

McInnis told CNN that recovery crews were hard at work assessing the damage.

"We've got a long night ahead of us and a long road to recovery, but I feel confident that we will get everything done here quickly for our citizens," McInnis said.

The second tornado touched down in Lacombe but did not appear to cause much damage. There were no reports of injuries or significant damage in the area, though many residents remained without power on Wednesday morning.