Louisiana Mother And Her 3-Year-Old Daughter Are Killed In Tornado

Authorities say shortly after a warning was issued Sunday morning, a tornado touched down in Breaux Bridge, La., flipping a mobile home and killing a mother and her 3-year-old daughter.

St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Maj. Ginny Higgins told The Associated Press that 38-year-old Francine Gotch and 3-year-old Nevaeh Alexander were pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses told KLFY-TV that the father was at a store when the storm hit and returned home to find the bodies amid the debris.

The Associated Press reports:

Louisiana's governor is warning residents the "extremely dangerous weather" hitting the state is just getting started and the state should be on "high alert."

Gov. John Bel Edwards warned residents during a Sunday news conference that problems could last through the night.

The northern and central parts of the state are under a high-risk alert, which the governor says is an extremely rare classification. Those areas could get hail, flooding, high winds and possible tornadoes.

But the governor says the southern part of the state is also under a "moderate and enhanced" risk for severe weather as well, calling it a "state-wide weather event."

The National Weather Service reports:

Tornadoes and damaging wind are likely Monday, extending from southern Mississippi northeastward into South Carolina, with greatest tornado risk centered over southern Alabama. Damaging winds, possibly widespread and significant, are anticipated throughout much of the region.

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