Governor John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency as the cleanup continues from Thursday’s morning deadly twister that killed two people in Lincoln Parish. Edwards has viewed the damage in Ruston and was amazed by the precise path of destruction.
“Tornadoes unlike floods and hurricanes, where everything is widespread, are really sort of strange because you see one side of the street where everything looks normal, and the other side of the street is severely damaged.”
The governor toured the damage on Thursday and there was one moment in particular that shocked him.
“To see the second floor of the Motel 6 for example, that second floor just seemed to be gone, and to know that we had individuals who were sleeping in those rooms! But it appears that all of them were not injured.”
Two people in Ruston died when a tree fell on their house.
They have been identified as 35-year-old Kendra Butler and her 14-year-old son Remington. Remington was a freshman at Ruston High School, while Kendra was attending Grambling State.
