Neighbors reported that the parents of a little girl ran out of the wreckage, screaming for help. Their daughter, who was using a breathing machine, was trapped inside the house.
As she attempted to salvage items from her one-story home that was moved by the storm 30 feet (9 m) on Wednesday, mother Dea Castellanos told The Associated Press via a translator how rain and wind were outside as she sat on Tuesday’s living room couch.
Castellanos stated that she felt the house turn through a complete rotation, and that she was eventually in her bedroom.
Castellanos saw her house in the street when the family finally emerged. Her daughter, who has muscular dystrophy, was locked in her bedroom and calling for her mother.
“They were screaming. His wife was hysterical,” Chuck Heirsch of the neighbor called 911 when he saw their neighbors trying to reach their daughter. They were already traumatized by the ‘Wizard of Oz” ride.
Castellanos stated that the rest went by quickly. She said that her daughter was taken to hospital by an ambulance. Guy McInnis, president of St. Bernard Parish, said that the girl in hospital was doing fine.
Castellanos were assisted by friends and family to clean out the contents of their shattered home. They also saved mementos and clothes. Castellanos had one of their birds as pets, and it was still there, covered in debris.
Castellanos expressed gratitude for all who helped with cleanup and brought food bags and gloves.
