LEAKESVILLE – The severe weather that hit Mississippi on Friday killed a person in Greene County, state emergency officials said Saturday.
Greene was hit by severe weather during the night and authorities there reported that one person had been killed, said Jeff Rent, a spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. He had no further details and Greene County emergency officials were unavailable to comment Saturday morning.
Suspected tornadoes swept across Mississippi Friday, damaging or destroying dozens of homes and businesses and leaving at least three people critically injured. As of Saturday morning, MEMA said it had received reports of 13 people injured.
The hardest-hit places were Greene and Hinds counties, Rent said.
Besides the death in Greene, officials said several people were injured and numerous homes and businesses were damaged. A shelter for victims was set up at the community center in Leakesville.
In Hinds, widespread damage and several injuries were reported, especially in hard-hit Clinton.
Injuries, downed trees, flooding and property damage were reported in16 other counties.
In Kemper County, there were reports of numerous injuries and severe damage to homes. MEMA said more than 100 people were displaced in the county and that the water system was down. A county hospital and jail were running on generators Saturday.
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