Tornado Hits NASA Facility in New Orleans

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A tornado hit NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on the morning of Tuesday, February 7. Kelly Bennett captured the dramatic scene as the tornado approached the facility.

NASA used this video in a post on its YouTube channel, along with a separate video that offers a glimpse at the aftermath of the severe weather.


“All 3,500 employees at the facility have been accounted for, with five sustaining minor injuries,” an official NASA press release reads. “The facility is currently closed and will remain closed Wednesday, Feb. 8, with only emergency personnel on site to continue damage assessments…At this time, emergency personnel have identified damage to building numbers 103, 350 and additional structures. Building 103, Michoud’s main manufacturing building, has roof damage in several areas. Approximately 200 parked cars were damaged, and there was damage to roads and other areas near Michoud.”


Elsewhere in New Orleans on Tuesday, at least 25 people were injured by other tornadoes which severely damaged multiple neighborhoods, causing Governor John Bel Edwards to declare a state of emergency. Credit: Kelly Bennett via Storyful