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Tornadoes strike Mississippi
Powerful storms including at least three tornadoes tore through parts of Mississippi on Wednesday night, damaging around 500 homes and injuring at least 17 people, authorities said Thursday.
“damaging around 500 homes, uprooting trees and injuring at least 17 people”
Scott Simmons, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, said there were no immediate reports of deaths after the storms cut across the state's southwest on Wednesday night.
The Associated Press reported that the storms uprooted trees and injured at least 17 people as they moved through multiple Mississippi counties.
Daniel Lamb, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office in Jackson, said, "We know there were at least three tornadoes," and described tornadoes from Franklin, Lincoln into Lawrence counties and another from Lamar possibly into Forest County.
Witnesses and officials react
A resident, Max Mahaffey, described the moment the storm hit, telling WAPT-TV, "I was just watching TikTok on my bed and thought it was thunder. I went to my living room. I went back to my room, and the room’s gone," while saying he wasn't injured.
Mahaffey said his grandmother hurt her ankle and some neighbors suffered cuts and bruises, and video after sunrise showed most of the mobile homes reduced to heaps of twisted metal and debris.
Gov. Tate Reeves posted online, "Pray for Mississippi," as he said the state Emergency Management Agency was coordinating response efforts.
The department also asked residents to avoid interfering with recovery, posting early Thursday, "We ask that you please refrain from sightseeing as crews are working," while teams assessed blocked roads in Lincoln County.
Damage estimates and next risks
The state emergency management agency reported at least 200 damaged homes in Lincoln County and about 275 homes damaged in Lamar County, while another 10 to 12 homes were damaged in Lawrence County.
“at least 200 damaged homes”
The Gazette said strong storms were expected Thursday with the possibility of tornadoes across parts of Alabama, Georgia and Florida, and that strong storms were also possible for parts of the Carolinas and Texas.
The Gazette reported that Scott Simmons said 12 of those hurt were transported from the Wash Trailer Park in the small community of Bogue Chitto in Lincoln County.
In the same account, Daniel Lamb said the tornadoes confirmed by radar were "just the ones that we are able to confirm by radar before even having gone down there," and added, "There may have been more."
