Severe weather slammed the southern US two days before Christmas, killing at least four people and knocking out power to thousands.
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant declared an emergency for two southeastern counties where officials said four people died in the storms and several more were injured. His office said that thousands were without power on Tuesday night around Columbia, which is about 135km southeast of Mississippi’s capital, Jackson.
Jones County, Mississippi, Emergency Management director Marda Tullos said a man and woman were killed inside a mobile home in the storm’s path in Laurel.
About 80km southwest, Marion County Coroner Norma Williamson told a local news station that two people were killed in Columbia. One person was in a trailer park, another at a strip mall.
Marion General Hospital had treated about 50 patients since the severe weather swept through, spokeswoman Millie Swann said.
“The whole town of Columbia is without power,” Swann said. “The hospital is running on generator [power], but was able to treat people in the [emergency room] unless they needed a higher level of care.”
Eight patients were transferred to a hospital in nearby Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Photos tweeted by several local media outlets and the US National Weather Service in Jackson showed damage to a drug store, car dealership, daycare and a strip mall.
Meteorologist Latrice Maxie said significant damage has been reported to homes and businesses in the city of about 6,500 people.
A survey team was be sent yesterday to determine whether a tornado was responsible, she said.
Storm spotters said it was.
“It’s chaos over here,” Williamson said. “ All the lines are down.”
Marion County Emergency Management Director Aaron Greer told the Hattiesburg American newspaper that some people were still trapped inside their homes. Television footage showed cars, including an ambulance, flipped over and a few businesses wrecked.
Watches and warnings were out for a section of Alabama and Georgia, with the storms moving toward Atlanta and south into Florida late on Tuesday into yesterday.
Earlier on Tuesday, according to local news reports, a tornado touched down in Amite, Louisiana, downing several power lines and trees, and tearing the roof off at least one home.
Flooding also was forecast in several areas because of several centimeters of rain piling up.
Already in Tallahassee, Florida, the weather service tweeted that travel was strongly discouraged and that several water rescues were in progress. At least 15cm of rain had hit the area in a short time, reports said.
CHAGOS ISLANDS: Recently elected Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam told lawmakers that the contents of negotiations are ‘unknown’ to the government Mauritius’ new prime minister ordered an independent review of a deal with the UK involving a strategically important US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, placing the agreement under fresh scrutiny. Under a pact signed last month, the UK ceded sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, while retaining control of Diego Garcia — the island where the base is situated. The deal was signed by then-Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Oct. 3 — a month before elections in Mauritius in which Navin Ramgoolam became premier. “I have asked for an independent review of the
France on Friday showed off to the world the gleaming restored interior of Notre-Dame cathedral, a week before the 850-year-old medieval edifice reopens following painstaking restoration after the devastating 2019 fire. French President Emmanuel Macron conducted an inspection of the restoration, broadcast live on television, saying workers had done the “impossible” by healing a “national wound” after the fire on April 19, 2019. While every effort has been made to remain faithful to the original look of the cathedral, an international team of designers and architects have created a luminous space that has an immediate impact on the visitor. The floor shimmers and
THIRD IN A ROW? An expert said if the report of a probe into the defense official is true, people would naturally ask if it would erode morale in the military Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) has been placed under investigation for corruption, a report said yesterday, the latest official implicated in a crackdown on graft in the country’s military. Citing current and former US officials familiar with the situation, British newspaper the Financial Times said that the investigation into Dong was part of a broader probe into military corruption. Neither the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the Chinese embassy in Washington replied to a request for confirmation yesterday. If confirmed, Dong would be the third Chinese defense minister in a row to fall under investigation for corruption. A former navy
‘VIOLATIONS OF DISCIPLINE’: Miao Hua has come up through the political department in the military and he was already fairly senior before Xi Jinping came to power in 2012 A member of China’s powerful Central Military Commission has been suspended and put under investigation, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday. Miao Hua (苗華) was director of the political work department on the commission, which oversees the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the world’s largest standing military. He was one of five members of the commission in addition to its leader, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Ministry spokesman Colonel Wu Qian (吳謙) said Miao is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline,” which usually alludes to corruption. It is the third recent major shakeup for China’s defense establishment. China in June
RSS