Multiple tornadoes formed and swept through Mississippi on Sunday night, into Monday morning. The twisters left behind a trail of extensive property damage, and injuries for affected residents, the Associated Press reported.
Meteorologists from the National Weather Service believe that a strong tornado, possibly one with wind speeds over 100 miles per hour, may have formed in Eastern Mississippi, local news 16ABC reported.
Officials confirmed that multiple tornadoes formed around that time in both Rankin County and Jasper County. According to a statement from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Mississippi officials also confirmed the death of one person and 25 people with injuries. 18 of those injured residents had to go to the hospital. The rural town of Louin, in Jasper County bore the brunt of much of the damage.
“As of now, Jasper is the only county reporting injuries in this event,” Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves tweeted yesterday. “Damage assessments are currently ongoing in several counties and will continue over the coming days.” Officials also plan on monitoring damage from another tornado that struck Moss Point and Jackson County yesterday, Reeves tweeted.
A video uploaded to Twitter by the state’s emergency management agency shows trees splintered in half, structures with no windows or rooftops, and personal items strewn about:
MEMA is assisting counties with damage assessments. Here is a look at the damage in Jasper County from last night's storms. This video was recorded today (6/19/23). Media feel free to use this video with credit to MEMA.#mswx pic.twitter.com/PsN6OPZP3A
— msema (@MSEMA) June 19, 2023
The winds from the tornado this past weekend have also damaged power lines across multiple counties, which shut off power for tens of thousands of Mississippi residents yesterday. Sadly, parts of the state are still experiencing outages today. More than 19,000 customers throughout the state are without power this morning, according to Poweroutage.us.
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