1 Dead, At Least 18 Injured After Tornado Hits Central Mississippi City

1 dead, more than 20 injured in Mississippi tornado

At least 1 dead in Mississippi tornado

02:23

One person was killed and at least 18 others were injured after a tornado ripped through the small central Mississippi town of Louin on Sunday night, authorities said. The injured were taken to an area hospital for treatment, Jasper County Emergency Management spokesman Hudson Jenkins told CBS News Monday morning. At that time, the agency reported 20 to 30 homes “primarily affected” or destroyed by the tornado, Jenkins said, adding that damage assessments were scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Central time.

The agency later said in a news release that nearly two dozen people had been injured in Jasper County as a result of the overnight storms and tornado, citing county officials. About 49,000 people were still without power in central Mississippi, according to the agency, which encouraged anyone experiencing property damage to file an insurance claim, take photos of the damage and report it to the authorities in your county or the same state agency.

Video footage showed the destruction in Louin in the wake of the tornado, as rescuers pulled local residents from under piles of debris and loaded them into ambulances, as well as a Hummer after all available ambulances had been used . Fallen trees blocked roads and houses had no exterior walls. The lightning, which came with the strong storm, can also be seen on video.

Officials estimated that 20 to 30 homes were damaged or destroyed in a tornado that struck Jasper County, Mississippi, overnight.

Brandon Clement / LSM

The tornado touched down around 11:30 p.m. CT Sunday night, the National Weather Service in Jackson confirmed in a tweet In addition to Louin, the weather service had previously issued a tornado warning until midnight for the nearby towns of Montrose and Paulding. The initial warning noted the potential threat of a “damaging” tornado bringing hail the size of golf balls to the area and advised the roughly 4,000 people living there: “This is a life-threatening situation . Seek shelter now!”

11:36 p.m.: A tornado has been confirmed on the ground northeast of Bay Springs and east of the 15 freeway. Protect yourself now! #mswx https://t.co/5fsj2AmylM

— NWS Jackson MS (@NWSJacksonMS) June 19, 2023

In an emergency bulletin issued about an hour after officials spotted the tornado on the ground in Mississippi, the weather service in Jackson warned of wind gusts that could reach 60 miles per hour. A severe thunderstorm warning was already in effect for the region Sunday afternoon and Monday, for parts of Jasper County and Clarke County in east-central Mississippi. Damage to vehicles from the hail, described as “half-dollar size,” was expected, as was wind damage to roofs, siding and trees, the weather service said.