Storms bring floods and damaging winds to states across the South; 1 dead in Mississippi [Video]

SLIDELL, La. (AP) — Severe storms blamed for a death in Mississippi spawned a tornado that demolished buildings in one Louisiana city Wednesday while inundating streets in low-lying New Orleans with hours of steady rain that snarled traffic and strained the city’s antiquated drainage system.

Severe weather stretched across much of the Gulf South with reports of damage from Texas to the Florida panhandle.

More than 30,000 homes and businesses were without power Wednesday night in Louisiana’s St. Tammany Parish, where a tornado struck the city of Slidell, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of New Orleans. It ripped roofs off buildings and partially collapsed others in and around the city of about 28,000 people. Authorities said first responders had to rescue people trapped in one heavily damaged apartment building.

At a Wednesday night news conference, Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer estimated about 75 homes and businesses were damaged in the city. Parish …