'It felt like two seconds and it was over' | Area hard hit by Katrina now dealing with tornado's aftermath

ARABI, Louisiana — A house of worship on Friscoville Avenue is in need of prayer after an EF3 tornado touched down Tuesday night in Arabi, Louisiana.

The multi-vortex twister stunned onlookers, took at least one life and injured many more.

“It felt like two seconds and it was over,” said resident Dave Dessens.

Dessens lost a large chunk of the roof from his home that was swamped by Katrina 17 years ago.

In fact, he temporarily relocated to Houston after that catastrophic event.

“The thing is with a hurricane, you can prepare for it,” said Dessens.  “You know it’s coming.”  

“You can either decide to stay or you can leave.”

He said much of his block was devastated this time virtually without warning.

“We started to run for the closet and we didn’t make it,” said Dessens.  “So we got on the floor.”

He hated to hear a neighbor and his dog not far away did not survive this storm that was strong enough to completely flip over cars and much larger vehicles.

“It’s just jaw-dropping,” said another neighbor.

Many of those whose homes were unharmed, like one family we met, are now making sure victims and first responders aren’t in need of things like food.

“I just can’t imagine what it was like for these people,” said Sarah Paretti who was handing out red beans and rice.  “It was just so close.”

Much of the affected area remained without power Wednesday although many utility crews were in the area.

Meantime, there’s a heavy law enforcement presence keeping an eye out for things like potential looting.