Suspected Tornado Hits Louisiana Town, 1 Killed

A woman was killed and 11 others were hurt Saturday after a suspected tornado hit the southwestern Louisiana town of Rayne.

Acadia Parish sheriff's spokeswoman Maxine Trahan said the 21-year-old woman died after a tree fell on her house.

Authorities say about 1,500 residents have been forced to leave their homes after natural gas leaks were reported. Trahan said the residents must stay away until at least Sunday.

At least 100 homes have been destroyed or damaged in a swath of destruction a quarter of a mile wide and three miles long.

"There are houses off their foundations," State Police Trooper Stephen Hammons said.

Authorities said the 11 injuries were minor and that those people had been treated at area hospitals.

Meteorologist Donald Jones said the National Weather Service in Lake Charles was trying to determine if the high winds were a tornado. The destruction hit the Acadia Parish town of about 8,500 at around 10 a.m. as a line of violent thunderstorms moved through the area.

A storm system was moving across Louisiana, and Jones said it could make its way through Mississippi and Alabama in the next day or so.