This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/21/tornado-mississippi-hattiesburg

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Four dead after tornado strikes Mississippi inflicting 'massive damage' Four dead after tornado strikes Mississippi inflicting 'massive damage'
(about 4 hours later)
More than 40 firefighters from across Mississippi were searching for the dead and injured from a tornado that struck Hattiesburg in the early hours of the morning. Four people were known to have died, according to the city government. Four people were killed, roofs were ripped from homes and churches and trees were torn from the earth early on Saturday when a tornado hitting in the dark of night ripped through a region in southern Mississippi, officials said.
Mayor Johnny DuPress signed an emergency declaration for Hattiesburg. Significant injuries and structural damage were reported. Four people died after the twister blew through the city of Hattiesburg and its surrounding area, said Forrest County coroner Butch Benedict. The twister was part of a wall of stormy weather traveling across the region, bringing with it rain and unstable conditions.
Greg Flynn of the Mississippi emergency managementagency said “massive damage” was reported in a three-county area that was struck by a tornado at around 4am. Authorities did not immediately release the names of the four people who died. But at least one family had already received the terrible news. Monica McCarty said her father died in the same trailer park where she and her boyfriend live and her son was apparently crushed to death while in bed at her mother’s house, where he lived.
Cars had been flipped over, sometimes piled on top of each other while parts of houses were ripped into shards of wood and debris. Trees were ripped from their roots and thrown across roads. Standing amid the carnage the tornado had wrought, McCarty wept as her boyfriend, Tackeem Molley, comforted her.
As dawn rose over the city, rescue workers and residents walked down streets strewn with debris and still wet from the storm. “They couldn’t get him out of the house. They said he was laying in the bed,” McCarty said of her son.
Gulfport fire department battalion chief Chris Henderson said the statewide task force would do a grid search from the police headquarters to nearby William Carey University in one of the most heavily damaged areas. The firefighters were using dogs and all-terrain vehicles. Molley said he and McCarty were in a trailer when the storm hit. Molley, whose bare foot was bandaged, said he climbed out through a hole in what had either been the trailer’s roof or wall.
William Carey, a Christian university, said on its Twitter feed that its Hattiesburg campus was closed until further notice. Its Tradition campus near the coast was still open. Arrangements were being made for students who could not go home. “I had a little hole I could squeeze out of,” he said.
The university reported that some students had minor injuries, and some dorms were damaged. Photographs posted on the university’s Twitter feed showed vehicles in a parking lot flipped over and parts of a brick building ripped down. In the surrounding neighborhood, power company trucks were running up and down the streets. A city backhoe was plowing debris from the road. Dozens of homes were damaged.
Sheet metal was strewn everywhere. Trees turned into spindly sticks were lying across power lines and the roar of chain saws could be heard. At least three churches had sustained damage.
Mayor Johnny DuPree has signed an emergency declaration for the city, which reported “significant injuries” and structural damage.
The search for the dead and injured continued as the sun rose. More than 40 firefighters from across Mississippi gathered outside Hattiesburg police headquarters to search. Equipped with dogs and all-terrain vehicles, they were planning a grid search from police headquarters to nearby William Carey University in one of the most heavily damaged areas.
On Bernice Avenue south of downtown Hattiesburg, Edna Smith was surveying what was left of the tan brick house she has lived in since 2005.
Her parrots had been spared but the tornado ripped off most of her roof, dumping it in the backyard and alley behind her house. Her neighbor’s porch roof blew into her carport, slamming her car into a brick wall.
“It woke me up and half the roof was gone,” said Smith, who moved to Hattiesburg after Hurricane Katrina displaced her from her suburban New Orleans home in 2005. Rain cascaded on to the roofless house, turning wallboard into mud and soaking upholstered furniture.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do now. I’m going to try to get some help,” she said.
Hours after the tornado, authorities were still concerned about downed power lines and possible gas leaks and were encouraging people to stay home, said Hattiesburg police lieutenant Allen Murray.
Photos of storm damage pic.twitter.com/Wu3bahdVRRPhotos of storm damage pic.twitter.com/Wu3bahdVRR
Hattiesburg police lieutenant Allen Murray said authorities remained concerned about downed power lines and possible gas leaks and were encouraging people to stay at home. Greg Flynn of the Mississippi emergency management agency said “massive damage” was reported across a three-county area that was struck at around 4am.
Murray said that among structures damaged was a Hattiesburg fire station. He said the city did not yet have an estimate on how many buildings were damaged or destroyed. Thousands in southern Mississippi were without power. The three major power companies in the area reported nearly 13,000 customers in the dark. The bulk of those were in Forrest County.
Thousands of customers in southern parts of the state were without power. The vast majority were in Forrest County, which contains Hattiesburg. William Carey University, a Christian university with a campus in Hattiesburg, said on Twitter that the campus was closed until further notice. Its Tradition campus near the coast was still open. Students were being escorted from the Hattiesburg campus and arrangements made for students who could not go home.
The university said some students had minor injuries, and some dorms were damaged. Photos posted on the university’s Twitter feed showed vehicles in a parking lot flipped over and parts of a brick building ripped down.
The three counties affected were Forrest, Lamar and Perry counties. Flynn said the tornado touched down in Lamar, plowed through Forrest and then struck Perry before dissipating.
The National Weather Service said three to five inches of rain have already fallen, raising the risk of flooding. More rain – one to two inches – was possible.