By LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / March 3, 1999

NORCO – Monday was a day of cleaning up in central Norco, between Fourth and Fifth streets, in the wake of Saturday night’s tornado.

Miraculously, no one was injured in the town, despite 29 residences being affected, as well as serious damage done to Norco Elementary School.

“We’re blessed that it happened Saturday night,” said Larry Sesser, executive director of St. Charles Parish Schools physical plant services,as he supervised cleanup operations at the damaged school.

Norco Elementary, Sesser said, sustained serious damage to the cafeteria roof, forcing the school to shut down the kitchen for Monday. However, the school itself opened to a near-normal day Monday morning.

The tornado itself was spawned by a line of thunderstorms which, for the most part, passed the area north of Lake Pontchartrain.

Parish President Chris Tregre said it was a “baby tornado” which didn’t even track on local radar.

“We looked at the EOC radar and nothing indicated there was a tornado,” Tregre said. However, the proof was in the town, with trees twisted andevery indication proving a minimal tornado had passed through town.

“Basically, it was a freak,” Tregre said.

The tornado itself skimmed into town from over the Bonnet Carre Spillway, touched down briefly at the school, and lightly skipped over the 400 block of Norco’s streets all the way to Good Hope Street.

“It did not sound like a freight train,” Karen Hebert, 448 Spruce Street, said. “Then the pressure started dropping and then the rumbling started.”At that point, she related, “A window blew out in the bathroom and I started screaming for the kids. My oldest son, Jeremiah, said, ‘The roof’sgone, Mama!'” And so it was, but only over that room of the house, which fronts Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church and school. Then the storm hopped over thehouse, ripped up a satellite dish antennae, then shoved a neighbor’s car into a house, bounced across trees and demolished apartments at 456 Marino Street.

However, most of the damage from that point on was limited to tree limbs and bits of roofs until the storm’s passage. From that point, the tornadoskipped above the rest of St. Charles Parish before touching down lightlyin Jefferson Parish, according to John Adams of Entergy.

When the tornado first hit, 2,200 customers in the Norco area were left without power, Adams reported. However, crews worked all night, and by10:30 a.m. most residents’ power was restored. By 1:30 p.m., Sunday,practically all residents were back on line.

“I really want to commend the St. Charles Emergency Operations Center,the St. Charles Sheriff’s Office and the Norco VFD,” Adams continued.”They really pitched in with traffic control, crowd control and the like. Itwas total cooperation.”Tregre said, “We jumped right on it.”Public works crews galvanized into action and assisted Entergy and sheriff’s deputies in organizing cleanup efforts.

“It’s all in the plan,” Tregre commented. “It makes it easier when youhave it all written down. Thank God, nobody was hurt.”By 9:30 a.m., the St. Charles Parish service center of the American RedCross set up temporary headquarters at the Norco Fire Station on West B Street. Hot meals were served for lunch and dinner and, as of noon Monday,313 meals had been served to Norco residents. A shelter was opened but noone was interested, as they were too busy cleaning up their own homes.

Red Cross shifted its headquarters to the Sacred Heart Youth Center (upstairs), 425 Spruce Street, where 43 volunteers managed emergency services, including damage assessment and mass-care feeding, and provided free clean-up kits, counseling and other disaster services.

On Monday, Red Cross received financial help to further its services to the residents of the parish, including a $15,000 donation from Shell/Motiva Refinery and Chemical plants and a $10,000 donation from United Way of St. Charles.Jim Kimes of Shell Refinery made the presentation to Jim Hubbard, CEO of American Red Cross Southeast Louisiana Chapter, and to Melvin Davis, branch operations supervisor.

The United Way presentation was made by executive director George Williamson to Hubbard and St. Charles service center manager DebraAdams.

After the 1995 floods, Shell donated $100,000 to assist flood victims, Don Baker of Shell said.

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