MAGEE, Miss. — A fierce storm system kicked up a devastating tornado that injured 20 people in a tiny southern Mississippi town and scattered thunderstorms across the South, leaving a trail of ripped-up rooftops, shattered mobile homes, and downed power lines and trees.
There were no immediate reports of deaths, but Mayor Jimmy Clyde in the south-central town of Magee said stunned residents were still surveying the destruction from a predawn twister that smashed through dozens of homes and apartment duplexes and even toppled a church and cemetery tombstones.
“This is like reliving Hurricane Katrina all over again, and that’s no fun,” Clyde said.
Power blackouts affected tens of thousands of Louisiana residents, and authorities reported damage to some Alabama homes. Georgia residents also braced for potentially heavy rains.
Forecasts called for more storms Thursday night and tonight.
Meanwhile, North Dakota’s largest city moved to the brink of potentially disastrous flooding Thursday, with earlier optimism fading as officials predicted the Red River would reach a record-high crest of 43 feet by the weekend.
Thousands of volunteers who have been piling sandbags for days scrambled to add another foot to Fargo’s dike protection, and official briefings lost the jokes and quips that had broken the tension earlier in the week. Instead, Thursday’s meeting opened with a prayer.
The city of 92,000 unveiled a contingency evacuation plan Thursday afternoon. Nursing homes already had begun moving residents.
