Probable tornado in Pearl River traps disabled woman in damaged home

PEARL RIVER, La. (WVUE) - Family and neighbors gathered Wednesday (April 10) outside a Pearl River home that sustained possible tornado damage, trapping a bedridden disabled woman inside.

Homeowner Tanya Michel broke down in tears while telling Fox 8 that emergency responders were en route to rescue her sister, who has Down syndrome and was in a hospital bed inside the home on Susan Street. The house’s roof had been crushed by a fallen tree, causing extensive damage and rainwater inside.

“I never heard that kind of sound before in my life,” Michel said, recalling the moment of destruction. “Everything’s wet. The whole inside.”

Neighbors rushed from next door to help, including two men with roofing experience who immediately brought ladders and attached a temporary tarp over the damaged house.

Michel said her son had already left the house before the tree fell, to bring her husband to a Slidell hospital.

“My husband had brain surgery three years ago. He gets seizures sometimes, and the stress (of the storm)...,” Michel said.

Emergency responders, accompanied by Pearl River Mayor Joe Lee, soon arrived on scene to bring Michel’s sister out of the home. There was no immediate word on the woman’s condition.

The vehicles had to navigate heavily flooded roadways in the area as rain from the severe line of storms continued to fall.

“(I’ve) never, ever seen (flooding) like this,” Michel said. “Never.”

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