Massive storm drops seven inches in three days

Power outages, fallen trees, road closers mostly resolved as of late Wednesday

The turbulent storm system that barreled through Union Parish this week dropped more than 7 inches of rain, left thousands temporarily without power, closed roads and schools, but caused no fatalities, parish officials said Wednesday.
More than 3,500 Union Parish residents lost power during the storm. As of late Wednesday, Entergy reported just over 100 parish customers without power. Claiborne Electric reported about 40.
According to parish Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Director Matthew Ford, the damage from the storm could have been much worse.
“Fortunately, the wind damage wasn’t as severe as it could have been,” Ford said. “We had several trees down in the roads, mostly from rain, but our first responders cleared them all very quickly.”
Ford said there were also numerous vehicle accidents.
The storm was Ford’s first challenge as Homeland Security director, a position he entered less than a month ago. He was impressed, he said, with the parish’s first responders.
“Union Parish’s first responders are second to none,” Ford said. “They were clearing the roads just as fast as the reports came in.”
While the rain flooded several roads, Ford said all parish roads were open Wednesday evening.
“There may be some places still holding water, so drivers should be cautious and should not drive through water if they are at all unsure of how deep it is,” Ford said.
While Union Parish seems to have weathered the storm well enough, other Louisiana towns were not so fortunate.
Following in the wake of the deluge, a tornado with 115-mph winds ripped off roofs and tore down power lines in Lake Charles Wednesday, and another twister damaged homes in Texas.
Only one death, in Mississippi, has been attributed to the storm.