According to authorities, several tornadoes blasted through Mississippi overnight, killing one person and injured close to twenty.
State emergency personnel were still collaborating with counties to evaluate the damage caused by storms that included tornadoes, high temperatures, and hail in certain locations. The death and injuries were reported by authorities in Jasper County, in eastern Mississippi.
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The destruction was primarily concentrated in the small, rural village of Louin. Wide swaths of debris-covered countryside, demolished dwellings, and broken trees were visible in drone footage and photographs. A stretcher was used to remove at least one person from the debris.
Lester Campbell told The Associated Press that his cousin, 67-year-old George Jean Hayes, was the victim while he was standing in front of his destroyed home on Monday. Jones County Coroner Don Sumrall, who could be reached by phone on Monday, stated that Hayes died at 2:18 a.m. from “multisystem trauma.”
Campbell slept off in his recliner on Sunday night. Around midnight the lights went off and he was roused. The tornado struck after he went to the kitchen to get something from the refrigerator.
Campbell claimed to have heard cries for assistance coming from Hayes’ caravan house across the street. When he left his house, he saw paramedics loading his cousin into an ambulance while his forehead and leg were covered in blood. When he first saw her, she was awake and speaking, but she passed away before getting to the hospital, he claimed.
According to Becky Collins, a representative for the hospital, the majority of those hurt in Jasper County—including Hayes—were sent to South Central Regional Medical Centre in Laurel between two and three in the morning. About 20 people were cut and bruised. Most people were in good health on Monday morning.
At least 26 people were killed and thousands of homes were damaged as a violent tornado tore across parts of western and northern Mississippi on March 24. Rebuilding can be a difficult effort in some of the Mississippi Delta’s small, impoverished villages.
The tornadoes on Monday also hit Rankin County, which borders the capital city of Jackson, according to Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. Drones were used by emergency personnel to conduct damage assessments and search and rescue operations in some locations that were inaccessible to vehicles owing to downed power lines.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency stated in a news release on Monday that more than 49,000 residences in central Mississippi were without electricity. After strong winds pounded the state early on Friday, thousands of individuals in Hinds County, the state’s most populated region, were still without power Monday morning.
