YAZOO CITY, Miss. — Tornadoes ripped through four states in the South on Saturday, leaving broken crosses in front of a flattened church, splintering houses and overturning vehicles as they killed 10 people, including three children.
One of the hardest-hit areas was Mississippi’s Yazoo County, where Gov. Haley Barbour grew up. He described “utter obliteration” among the picturesque hills rising from the Mississippi Delta.
More than 15 other counties in Mississippi had damage. The swath of debris forced rescuers to pick up some of the injured on all-terrain vehicles in the west-central part of the state. Tornadoes also were reported in Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama, and the severe weather continued to track eastward.
The severe weather started in Louisiana just across the state line from Mississippi when a tornado destroyed 12 homes and warehouses at Complex Chemical Co., which makes antifreeze and other automotive fluids, owner Jerry Melton said. A small nitrogen leak was reported but didn’t cause any problems.
The storm system moved east, with the twister hitting nearby Yazoo County, killing four people. In adjacent Holmes County, another person was killed. A little farther northeast, a tornado hit Choctaw County, where another five people were killed, including the three children.
Meteorologists said it was too soon to tell whether a single long-lasting tornado or several shorter ones caused the deaths and damage in the different cities.
Thousands of people across the state were without electricity, and downed power lines and trees blocked roads.
Jim Pollard, a spokesman for American Medical Response ambulance service, said four patients from Yazoo County were airlifted and about 20 others were taken to hospitals. At least four people were in critical condition.
