Bad storms hit Lawrence County on Tuesday morning

THE FIRST ACCIDENT in the storm that hit Lawrence County on Tuesday morning, April 2. During high winds and heavy rain, a vehicle left the roadway and struck a light pole at Taco Bell in Louisa. BSN photo: Brenda Hardwick

By Roberta Cantrell

BSN Associate Editor

LOUISA- Lawrence County was among several counties in the region that was in the red for a tornado watch Tuesday morning.

Around 11 a.m., emergency first responders were in full force answering back-to-back calls of people in need of assistance.

According to Travis Hughes LC Emergency Management Coordinator there was no confirmation of a tornado but there were 60 mph winds and heavy rain that caused a lot of destruction throughout Louisa and its surrounding area.

“We’ve had a lot of damage reported such as downed trees and power lines,” Hughes said. There were no injuries reported throughout what he called the first round of storms.

We’ve had several fire departments and road crews out working to clear debris and trees from the roads,” Hughes said. “I had the search and rescue team on standby at my office in case they were needed throughout the time of the storms.”

According to Hughes several structures had damage because of wind and fallen trees and one accident was reported when a car lost control during the storm and came to a rest at an electric pole located in Taco Bell parking lot.

American Electric Power (AEP) confirmed power outages all over the region stating in a press release that there were over 1,100 without power in Lawrence County while just across the bridge in neighboring Wayne County, WV there were over 9,500 without power.