BOGUE CHITTO, Miss. (AP) 鈥� that spawned at least three tornadoes tore through several Mississippi counties, damaging around 500 homes, uprooting trees and injuring at least 17 people, authorities said Thursday.
There were after the cut across the state’s southwest late Wednesday evening, said Scott Simmons, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
He said 12 of those hurt were transported from a hard-hit trailer park in the small community of Bogue Chitto, about an hour’s drive south of the state capital in rural Lincoln County.
Most of the two dozen homes at Gene鈥檚 Mobile Home Supply were flattened into heaps of splintered boards and twisted metal. People picked through the debris Thursday morning under cloudy skies as a chain saw buzzed in the background.
Krystal Miller and six others 鈥� including babies as young as 4 weeks old 鈥� grabbed a Bible and sheltered in their home’s hallway when the tornado sent the building cartwheeling through the air.
鈥淲e just flipped, and it threw us all out,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t scattered everybody out. 鈥� I can鈥檛 find the Bible.鈥�
She said her young son was in the hospital for monitoring and another child was injured in the face.
鈥淭he trailer is in pieces but we made it out,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淚’m feeling grateful.鈥�
One intact trailer lay flipped on its roof near the tree line. Several cars, some with hazard lights blinking, appeared to have been picked up by the storm.
鈥淲e know there were at least three tornadoes,鈥� said Daniel Lamb, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office in Jackson.
鈥淭he same storm produced at least two tornadoes from Franklin, Lincoln into Lawrence counties, and then there was another one from Lamar possibly into Forest County.鈥�
He said there may have been more. 鈥淭hose are just the ones that we are able to confirm by radar before even having gone down there.鈥�
鈥淧ray for Mississippi,鈥� Gov. Tate Reeves posted online, saying the state Emergency Management Agency was coordinating response efforts.
Many roads were still blocked in Lincoln County and teams from the agency were assessing the damage.
鈥淲e ask that you please refrain from sightseeing as crews are working,鈥� the department posted early Thursday.
The governor said a volunteer rescue group was providing a 50-person shelter pod, a high-powered generator and 10 pallets of supplies to the county, which reported at least 200 damaged homes.
Lamar County to the southeast reported about 275 homes damaged, according to the state emergency management agency. Another 10 to 12 homes were damaged in Lawrence County.
More storms were expected Thursday with the possibility of tornadoes across parts of Alabama, Georgia and Florida, the weather service said. Strong storms also were possible for parts of the Carolinas and Texas.
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McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire.
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