Major Storm Damage, Injuries Reported In Yazoo City

A tornado swept across Mississippi Saturday, damaging dozens of houses and injuring a so far unknown number of residents, emergency officials said. The tornado touched down in Valley Park, Yazoo City and Durant, according to the National Weather Service. Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Greg Flynn said officials in Warren, Yazoo and Holmes counties were conducting a "massive response." He did not immediately have information on injuries, but said the damage is extensive.



At least 20 houses were damaged and several people injured inYazoo City Saturday afternoon, emergency officials said. Yazoo City Mayor McArthur Straughter said the most extensive damage was reported along Highway 49. American Medical Response officials said five Yazoo City residents were transported to local hospitals. Officials with King's Daughter Hospital said the injuries were pouring in Saturday afternoon. "We have reports, apparently reliable, but personally, myself, unconfirmed -- I'm not at the scene -- that several homes have been damaged at Yazoo City," AMR ambulance spokesman Jim Pollard said.

Dan Turner, the spokesman for Gov. Haley Barbour, said open gas lines were reported in Yazoo City and urged residents to stay away from the area if they can. Brenda Tillis, who is in Yazoo City, told 16 WAPT news that she saw a funnel cloud and damage on Route 16. WAPT reporter Joseph Pleasant said crews cleared a knocked down power line from Highway 49 in Yazoo City and reopened the highway shortly before 1:30 p.m. The Madison County Sheriff's Department was sending deputies Saturday to Yazoo City to help with the cleanup efforts. The Holmes County Emergency Management Agency reported that several cars were blown off Interstate 55 during the storm.

WAPT reporter Kathryn Kight reported seeing homes completely destroyed in Eagle Lake in Warren County. She described seeing shirts and blankets hanging from trees and described a chaotic scene. Residents told her that they took cover beneath their beds and said the tornado lasted about four minutes. A Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper said MHP was responding to reports of injuries, but no fatalities. Kight also said she saw downed power lines, trees snapped in half and houses flattened in Warren County. When asked how many homes were affected by the tornado, Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace told 16 WAPT News, "We're still trying to get a count."



At about 12:40 p.m., 16 WAPT News received reports of a tornado on the ground about a half-mile wide in the area of Broadway and Highway 49. Reports also indicated downed trees and power lines in that area. In Lauderdale County, a church was damaged by strong winds, Flynn said. He said minor damage occurred at Olive Branch Middle School in DeSoto County, just south of Memphis, Tenn.

A tornado reportedly caused significant damage to an industrial plant in Omega, according to the National Weather Service. People were reportedly trapped and injuries were reported, NWS officials said. The storms also knocked out power to 14,000 Entergy Mississippi customers, the majority of whom were in Warren County. Most of Mississippi was under tornado watches and warnings Saturday as severe weather swept through the South. Several sporting events and festivals were rescheduled because of the storms.

_{Bron: WAPT} | Gewijzigd: 24 april 2010, 21:13 uur, door talkyr86

Mississippi tornado vernietigd 20 a 30 woningen



Een zware tornado in de buurt van Valley Park (Mississippi) heeft enorm veel schade aangericht. Dat heeft National Weather Service bevestigd. In het nabij gelegen stadje Yazoo City werden ongeveer 20 a 30 huizen totaal verwoest. Volgens brandweerman Roy Wilson zitten vele mensen nog vast en hij durfde geen uitspraken te doen over eventuele doden of gewonden. "De stad is er slecht aan toe" zei brandweerman Roy Wilson.

_{©Onweer-online} | Gewijzigd: 24 april 2010, 22:09 uur, door talkyr86

Update: 2 Dead After Tornado Strikes Western Mississippi

A tornado touched down Saturday in rural Mississippi, killing two people, injuring several others and ripping the tops off buildings, the mayor of Yazoo City said. The 3/4-mile wide tornado roared across at least three counties in west-central Mississippi. Mayor McArthur Straughter said the county coroner confirmed the deaths. "It's devastating. All of the buildings up in this area have had the roof torn off," said Straughter, estimating about 15 to 20 buildings had been heavily damaged.

_{Bron: FOXNews}

Tornado Strikes Albertville, Geraldine, Ft. Payne

Emergency crews are on the scene in Geraldine, Ft. Payne and Albertville where tornadoes tore through late Saturday night. The storms spun up just before 10:30 p.m.. Power is out in the area, and emergency responders are urging people to stay inside.



Mobile Homes Across From Albertville Elementary
There have been several homes and businesses destroyed. WAAY 31's Ross Sather has reported that homes across from Albertville Elementary School appear to be leveled. Sather joined firefighters as they went through the mobile home park across from the school checking on residents. No serious injuries were reported there. Ross reports about 150-200 people are without food or shelter tonight from that mobile home park alone. Two Elementary School workers helped the victims get inside the lunchroom after the storm.

Albertville High School Rumors
Meanwhile, rumors that Albertville High School was destroyed have been proven false. WAAY 31's Stephanie Beecken got to the High School around 12:30 a.m. and reports it's still standing, but there is a considerable amount of debris scattered around the building. Sheriff Scott Walls says there are several injuries, but as of 1:00 a.m., no fatalities are reported. There is a gas station completely leveled in Albertville, as well as a church with significant damage. Perhaps the most poignant imagine of the night is a piece of wood slammed into an Albertville grocery store, sticking straight out, from the force of the wind.



Shelter Available
The American Red Cross has opened an official shelter at the National Guard Armory in Albertville. Originally, the Senior Center in Boaz was the site for the shelter, but overwhelming demand forced officials to move it to a bigger facility. The National Guard Armory is located on East McKenney Avenue behind Ross Graden.

Geraldine School Condition
DeKalb County School Superintendent Charles Warren released this statement just before 2:00 a.m. :
After midnight, I made an on site visit to Geraldine School after the storm passed through. Although it was very hard to assess the damage to the school in the dark (all security lights were out due to the power outage), the school structure did not appear to be heavily damaged. The damage I could see included many downed trees around the campus, power lines down, and some minor structural damage to different areas of the school. It was very difficult to reach the school since most of the roads leading into the school were closed due to downed trees and broken power lines. Emergency workers from Geraldine and other areas of the county were already beginning to clear the roads in and around Geraldine when I arrived tonight.



In the morning, we will begin to make a more accurate assessment of the damage to the school. I and other school officials will be on site to better assess the damage. Since many power lines are down around town, we do not know the status for school on Monday. We will make that decisions sometime tomorrow afternoon.

_{Bron: WAAY} | Gewijzigd: 25 april 2010, 11:16 uur, door talkyr86

Minstens tien doden bij zware tornado in Mississippi

Een zware tornado, die windsnelheden tot 240 km/uur produceerde, heeft lelijk huisgehouden in de zuidelijke Amerikaanse deelstaten Louisiana en Mississippi. Behalve grote materiële schade vallen ook tien mensenlevens te betreuren, onder wie twee kinderen. Bij de kinderen een drie maanden oude baby. Het stormsysteem verantwoordelijk voor de 'twister' veroorzaakte nog eens 40 tornado's in het zuiden van de VS en de midwest. Zo zijn ook de deelstaten Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky en Indiana getroffen.

Daken werden van huizen gerukt, bomen en elektriciteitsmasten vielen om, auto's werden van de straten geveegd. De autoriteiten vrezen dat er nog meer dodelijke slachtoffers gevonden zullen worden. Vandaag mag het gebied zich verwachten aan zwaar stormweer, hagel en een nieuwe reeks tornado's. In Mississippi werd vooral Yazoo City, de thuisstad van gouverneur Haley Barbour, zwaar getroffen. Delen van de stad werden gewoon weggeblazen.

_{Bron: Hln}

Citaat van mochino, zondag 25 april 2010, 11:35 uur off: op 1 pagina 3 of 4 x de zelfde info
Elke bericht bevat nieuwe informatie en minimale herhaling dus valt toch best mee

Is het al ergens duidelijk wat voor een het was?
F4, F5?

Ik was toevallig net online en volgde Brad en Reed timmer.

Deze twee chasers waren in de buurt.Man de schade die ik heb gezien...

Was een dikke EF4. Het gekke was, een uur later scheen de zon weer, net alsof er nooit iets was gebeurt.

Video materiaal van Reed Timmer