#lawx #tornado
High winds and at least one confirmed tornado have ripped through Iberia Parish.
New Iberia Medical Center took a direct hit from a tornado. Randall Mann with Acadian Ambulance reports that the facility is not damaged, and multiple patients are coming in.
An apartment complex located at East Montagne and Dehart Drive has reported multiple injuries along with subdivisons in the same area. Patients are staging in the hospital parking lot, Mann said.
Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Katherine Breaux said the Sheriff’s Office is currently working with the New Iberia Police Department.
Five people with "very minor injuries" are being treated at Iberia Medical Center - even though the hospital itself was damaged by the tornado that hit New Iberia today.
"At approximately 11 am, a tornado damaged part of the IMC Main Campus, medical office building and some ancillary buildings and structures. Currently, there are five individuals with very minor injuries being treated in the ER," a statement from the hospital says. "All entrances to the Main Campus are currently closed. Everyone is being asked to enter the Main Campus through the emergency entrance only. The North Campus and Main Campus have full power, water pressure and are fully functional."
As of noon, New Iberia residents were being told to shelter in place.
The Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office reports one injury so far. The SO and the New Iberia Police Department have set up a command post at New Iberia Senior High School for those displaced from their homes.
"This is an active situation, and we ask that everyone continue to shelter in place. Check on your neighbors and loved ones," a spokeswoman for the sheriff says.
A spokeswoman for the New Iberia Police Department said that, unless you're in danger, all residents should shelter in place for now. Any residents who are in danger, or who need rescue, should call New Iberia Police and ask for help, she said. Rescued folks will be taken to NISH for now, she said.
Iberia Medical Center was affected by the storm, and is not taking patients right now. South Port subdivision also was affected, she said.
