Tornadoes flatten homes in South; several dead in Mississippi

story and photo left by NBC, msnbc.com and news services. Bottom photo by AP.

JACKSON, Miss. - Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms hopscotched across the South on Saturday, flattening numerous homes and buildings in Mississippi and destroying a chemical plant in Louisiana, emergency officials said. Several people were killed and dozens injured.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said the tornado caused "utter obliteration" in parts of his state.

The fast-moving storm system picked up steam as it crossed the river from Louisiana and punched into west-central Mississippi. A 3/4-mile-wide tornado wove a path of destruction as it headed northeast into Alabama, said Greg Flynn, spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency in Jackson.

In Choctaw County in central Mississippi, WTVA News reported at least seven people died after a severe storm ripped through the French Camp area. The sheriff's office would only confirm there were multiple fatalities and injuries, along with widespread damage.

In Yazoo County in west-central Mississippi, Yazoo City Mayor McArthur Straughter estimated about 15 to 20 buildings had been heavily damaged in his city.

"It's devastating. All of the buildings up in this area have had the roof torn off," Straughter said.
Flynn said three deaths were reported in Yazoo County.

Dozens of people were injured as the tornado swept across at least six Mississippi counties, said Jeff Rent of state Emergency Management. Yazoo City appeared to be the hardest-hit, Rent said.

In Louisiana, the Madison Parish Sheriff's Office said a tornado destroyed a chemical plant and heavily damaged or destroyed 20 to 25 houses in the Tallulah area, trapping people in houses and the plant.
Sheriff's Maj. Neil Horath said all have been rescued and nobody was seriously hurt.

State police said the storm apparently caused a small nitrogen leak from a tank at the Complex Chemical Co. plant. Trooper Mark Dennis, a state police spokesman, said a tractor-trailer was overturned shortly before the plant was hit.

A Northrop-Grumman Corp. shipyard was seriously damaged, said Tallulah Port director Clyde Thompson.

Sirens wail

In Yazoo City, Miss., power lines and trees were down, blocking roads, Straughter said by telephone as sirens whined in the background.

Jim Pollard, a spokesman for American Medical Response ambulance service, said two patients from Yazoo County were airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

More than a dozen people were treated for cuts, bruises and broken bones, said Laura Henderson, who works at the hospital there.

WLBT-TV reported numerous buildings were leveled at Highway 16 on the south side of the Yazoo City. A church was also reported destroyed.

The Hinds County Sheriff's Department was sending two dozen deputies and about 100 inmates to assist with the response in Yazoo County and clear debris.

Flynn said an unknown number of homes were also damaged in Warren, Issaquena and Holmes counties in the west-central part of the state.

State emergency management officials were working with the Red Cross and the Health Department to help set up shelters.

Entergy Mississippi Inc. said nearly 14,000 customers in Mississippi were without power.

'Everything is down'

Willie M. Horton, 78, said he hunkered down in the hallway of his house in rural Holmes County, Miss., when the storm roared through the area.

"Everything is down. A lot of trees. Big trees," Horton said.

He said his sister-in-law's house down the road was damaged, and a nephew's mobile home was carried away by the storm.

"My cousin — half his barn is gone," Horton said.

Karen Dunaway, a worker at the Triangle Cultural Center at the north end of downtown Yazoo City, said the severe weather spared the century-old, two-story building that was once a high school.

"We were having a children's dance recital. All the little children and all their worried parents went down to the basement and waited out the siren," Dunaway told msnbc.com. "We had some wind and some hard rain ... but the tornado evidently jumped us."

Survivor's tale

Amid the destruction, a stunning tale of survival arose. Dale Thrasher, a Yazoo City man, told WLBT-TV he was inside the Hillcrest Baptist when his wife called him around 11:30 a.m. to tell him that a tornado was approaching. Thrasher looked outside and saw the rain and the funnel cloud. The only place he had to go was back inside the church.

Thrasher ran into the sanctuary and dived underneath the communion table as the church came down around him. Thrasher was not hurt.

The storms also damaged a church in east-central Mississippi and caused minor damage at Olive Branch Middle School in DeSoto County, just south of Memphis, Tenn.

A possible tornado was reported in Alabama, damaging homes and downing trees but causing no injuries. Earlier, NASCAR canceled all track activity at Talladega Superspeedway because of threats of severe weather.