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Tornado Causes Damage in Mississippi Tornado Causes Damage in Mississippi
(32 minutes later)
A tornado touched down in Mississippi, the authorities there said on Friday night. A tornado has touched down in Mississippi, the authorities said on Friday night, as emergency workers began to survey the damage, and thunderstorms moved east through the state toward Alabama.
The National Weather Service office in Jackson, Miss., said on Twitter that a tornado had caused damage in Silver City and Rolling Fork. The agency issued a rare tornado emergency for the area on Friday night, indicating a life-threatening situation. The tornado caused damage in Silver City and Rolling Fork, Miss., the National Weather Service office in Jackson said on Twitter. The agency issued a rare tornado emergency for parts of the state Friday night, indicating a life-threatening situation, along with several tornado warnings.
Jerry Briggs, an emergency coordinator in Warren County, also confirmed that a tornado hit Rolling Fork but said he had no information about damage or casualties. More than five million people in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee were under a tornado watch as of 11 p.m. local time. About 50,000 electricity customers in Mississippi and Tennessee had already lost power, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us.
So far there were no reports of injuries, Malary White, the chief communications officer for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, said on Friday night. She said the state had no official damage estimates. So far there were no official damage assessments or reports of injuries, Malary White, the chief communications officer for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, said on Friday night.
Ms. White said state search-and-rescue resources were being sent to Sharkey County. Ms. White said state search-and-rescue resources were being sent to Sharkey County, Miss.; that her agency was assessing the needs of people displaced or affected by the tornado; and that her agency would begin damage assessments in the daylight. She added that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had been alerted.
“We are currently coordinating with our state human services to assess the needs of those that may be displaced/affected by the severe weather,” she said. “When it’s daylight, MEMA will begin with damage assessments. We’ve alerted FEMA, and they’re monitoring.”
Eldridge Walker, the mayor of Rolling Fork, told WLBT-TV, a local television station, that he could not leave his house, where the garage and west side had been seriously damaged by the tornado, because of downed power lines.
“We have a situation here,” he said. Mr. Walker said that some people in the community had been injured, though he did not give a specific number, and asked that people continue to shelter in place while emergency responders arrived.
More than five million people in Mississippi and four other states were under a tornado watch on Friday night. About 40,000 electricity customers in Mississippi and Tennessee had no power, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us.
Officials in Mississippi on Friday urged residents to find a safe place in the event of tornadoes, while officials in Tennessee reminded residents that spring weather could be unpredictable.
“Many in the MS Delta need your prayer and God’s protection tonight,” Governor Tate Reeves of Mississippi said in a statement on Twitter, adding that search and rescue teams and medical support were working in the area. “Watch weather reports and stay cautious through the night, Mississippi!”“Many in the MS Delta need your prayer and God’s protection tonight,” Governor Tate Reeves of Mississippi said in a statement on Twitter, adding that search and rescue teams and medical support were working in the area. “Watch weather reports and stay cautious through the night, Mississippi!”
In Rolling Fork, one of the towns hit by the tornado, Mayor Eldridge Walker told a local television station that he could not leave his house because of downed power lines. He said the garage and west side had been seriously damaged by the tornado.
“We have a situation here,” Mr. Walker told the station, WLBT-TV. He said that some people in the community had been injured, though he did not give a specific number, and asked that people continue to shelter in place while emergency responders arrived.
Jerry Briggs, an emergency coordinator in nearby Warren County, confirmed in a phone interview that a tornado had hit Rolling Fork, but said he had no information about damage or casualties.
Officials in Mississippi on Friday had urged residents to find a safe place in the event of tornadoes, while officials in Tennessee reminded residents that spring weather could be unpredictable.
Severe weather season in the South reaches its peak during March, April and May, meteorologists said.Severe weather season in the South reaches its peak during March, April and May, meteorologists said.
Thunderstorms are classified as severe when they produce hail of at least the size of a quarter or wind gusts of at least 58 m.p.h.
Earlier this month, powerful storms swept across the South, leaving at least 12 people dead and hundreds of thousands of customers without electricity. Heavy rains, severe winds and tornadoes damaged homes in at least eight states.Earlier this month, powerful storms swept across the South, leaving at least 12 people dead and hundreds of thousands of customers without electricity. Heavy rains, severe winds and tornadoes damaged homes in at least eight states.
And at the end of February, tornadoes injured at least a dozen people in Oklahoma.And at the end of February, tornadoes injured at least a dozen people in Oklahoma.
Johnny Diaz, Chris Mele and Derrick Bryson Taylor and contributed reporting. Johnny Diaz, Chris Mele and Derrick Bryson Taylor contributed reporting.