A strong tornado hop-scotched across the New Orleans metro area Tuesday morning leaving one woman dead, a few dozen injured and dozens of homes and businesses ripped to shreds.

Nearly 16,000 homes in the area remained without power at 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to Entergy.

The hardest hit areas included Westwego in Jefferson Parish and Carrollton and Pontchartrain Park in Orleans.

Bill Haber / Associated Press

A tree and power line sit on top of a car in the Carrollton area of New Orleans after a tornado struck early Tuesday.

At least 10 structures were destroyed and at least 10 to 15 houses damaged in New Orleans, said James Ross, a spokesman for Mayor Ray Nagin. The trailer serving as the fire house for the city's Engine 12 flipped over, injuring three firefighters. Tulane Hospital reported only bruises and scrapes, according to a news release from the mayor's office.

For residents in Pontchartrain Park the storm was their second major calamity in 18 months as several of the freshly-damaged homes still sported the spray paint and water lines from seven feet of water that poured into the area after Katrina.

The tornado’s lone fatality, 86-year-old Stella Chambers, was killed as the tornado destroyed the trailer in which she was living. Frantic family members scrambled to try to save her to no avail.

“She was all cut up,” said Murphy Lewis, a neighbor who tried to assist Chambers. “I didn’t want to move her much.”

In Westwego, where the tornado apparently began its destructive march, the Bon Soir motel was destroyed though all but six of the 36 guests there were able to avoid injury. Those who were hurt mostly suffered minor injuries, which had the motel’s owner declaring it a ‘miracle.’

The tornado ripped through about a dozen homes in a path about a half-mile wide and a mile long from LaPalco to the River. Officials did fear that more homes had suffered less evident structural damage.

In the Carrollton area of New Orleans at least a dozen schools were closed and a few dozen homes and businesses had moderate to severe damage. One family recalled their experience as their FEMA trailer was ripped apart, declaring their luck in being alive.

Mike Wiener, spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said FEMA has assessment teams in the areas affected by the storm.

"Right now our concern is with the safety of the travel trailer residents," he said.

Weiner said that, for people whose trailers were damaged: "We're going to get them adequate housing as soon as possible, whether it be a hotel room or another trailer."

Ronnie Simpson, a FEMA spokesman, said several federal asset assessment teams were on the ground to survey the damage to trailers. People with substantial damage are asked to contact the travel trailer hotline at 1-888-294-2822. However, Simpson asked that residents with minimal damage wait until later in the day before calling, so that the recovery group could handle more severe cases.