>Tornado kills 1, injures 11 in La.

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A tornado slammed a southwestern Louisiana town Saturday, killing a woman and injuring 11 other people. More than 100 homes were damaged, many of them destroyed, authorities said, and about 1,500 people were forced out because of natural-gas leaks.

The 21-year-old woman was killed when a tree fell on her house, said Maxine Trahan, a spokeswoman for the Acadia Parish sheriff. Debris was littered throughout Rayne, a town of about 8,500 people, after a line of thunderstorms moved through the area.

Trahan said the natural-gas leaks, which were later fixed, delayed damage assessments.

The system that hit Rayne quickly moved east and drenched New Orleans, where several Mardi Gras parades either were delayed, started earlier, or canceled because of the weather.