A section of Plantation Inn in Bayou Vista is taped off Sunday after a Saturday morning tornado damaged a portion of the roof and 48 rooms. No injuries were reported, and no one was staying in the damaged rooms when the tornado hit, said Duval Arthur, director of the St. Mary Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. (The Daily Review/Zachary Fitzgerald)
(Updated) Tornado damages Bayou Vista motel; no injuries reported
A tornado touched down Saturday morning in Bayou Vista and caused substantial damage at Plantation Inn but no injuries, according to officials.
At about 9:07 a.m. Saturday, a tornado damaged the roof and 48 rooms at Plantation Inn off U.S. 90 in Bayou Vista, said Duval Arthur, director of the St. Mary Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
No injuries were reported in connection with the tornado, and no one had been staying in the rooms that were damaged, Arthur said. A nearby taco truck was also damaged after being knocked over by the tornado, he said.
“It’s just unbelievable. No injuries, nobody got hurt, no passersby, nobody at the motel,” Arthur said. “It’s just amazing nobody got hurt or killed.”
The National Weather Service confirmed that a “weak tornado” likely caused the damage at Plantation Inn, meteorologist Jared Rackley said.
Arthur said a witness stated that the tornado came over the Plantation Inn and then headed toward the parish landfill in Berwick.
The Plantation Inn has been shut down due to the damage, including electrical issues, Arthur said. The motel may be closed for another day or two while the electrical problems are fixed, he said Monday.
Saturday’s tornado was the second one to hit Bayou Vista within the past couple of weeks. On March 29, a tornado touched down near Walmart, crossed U.S. 90 and entered the area of the landfill in Berwick. A camper flipped in the Walmart parking lot during that incident, but no one was injured.