Jackson, Miss. Powerful storms including at least one confirmed tornado ripped through parts of Mississippi, damaging nearly 500 homes, uprooting trees and downing power lines, authorities said Thursday.
There were no immediate reports of deaths from the storms that struck several counties on Wednesday night. At least 17 people were injured, according to Scott Simmons, spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
He said 12 of those injured were transported from Wash Trailer Park in the small community of Bogue Chitto in Lincoln County.
The park was severely damaged.
“I was just watching TikTok in my bed and I thought it was thunder. I went into the living room. I went back to my room, the room was gone,” resident Max Mahaffey told WAPT-TV.
He said he was not injured, but his grandmother was injured in her ankle and some of his neighbors suffered cuts and bruises.
The National Weather Service said a “large and extremely dangerous tornado” moved from eastern Lincoln County to Lawrence County.
Gov. Tate Reeves said several tornadoes were reported across the central and western parts of the state and the state Emergency Management Agency was coordinating response efforts.
“Pray for Mississippi,” he wrote online.
Lincoln County emergency officials said the severe weather caused extensive damage and numerous injuries, but no deaths.
“Damage assessment is ongoing, multiple roads are closed in the county, and we ask that you refrain from sightseeing while crews work,” the Department of Emergency Management posted early Thursday.
The county reported that at least 200 homes were damaged. 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 are expected Thursday, with tornadoes possible in parts of Alabama, Georgia and Florida, the National Weather Service said. Strong storms were also possible in parts of the Carolinas and Texas.