Posted on 02/10/2013 5:27:39 PM PST by rdl6989
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) - An apparent tornado passed through the heart of Hattiesburg on Sunday as part of a wave of severe storms that caused injuries and significant damage.
Forrest County Fire Coordinator Chip Brown said there is major damage in Hattiesburg and to the northeast in Petal, including on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. He couldn't confirm injuries.
(Excerpt) Read more at wdam.com ...
Yes, that bottom picture is the entrance to campus. The Alumni House is to the right, out of the frame. That was the building that seemed to have incurred the most damage. The first picture is of Elam Arms, an old set of dorm buildings, which has been empty for a few years, and I think was slated to be demolished this year. All the windows in both buildings were blown out by the storm.
Actually, that video was done by John Sibley, a stormchaser who had been following that storm all the way from Marion County, two counties to the West of H'burg! It had gone in almost a straight line, just South of Hwy 98, and started moving North and east after it crossed I-59. That's when you see it start moving toward Hardy St. (which is the street on which he's driving), and as it crosses the street, THAT is the moment it hits the USM campus. The winds on the edge of it damaged the Fine Arts Building, which is right across the street from Elam Arms, which is the two building complex on the right with all the windows blown out. That complex is an old dorm for USM, and it has been vacant for several years. This is what you see when he pulls to a stop where the light pole is across the road.
Ironic that the Red Cross center was destroyed!
That’s the Alumni House, which had been remodeled within the past two years.
Glad you were able to connect with your family and while it’s not GOOD news, it’s nowhere near as bad as it might have been or a bad as you might have worried about its being if you hadn’t talked to them. Property can be fixed. People can’t be replaced.
Just got an email from friends who live a few miles south of Hattiesburg. They said there were 3 tornadoes in the area—they were lucky and did not have any damage.
I know. but people that didn’t realize what it looked like before it was destroyed may not have appreciated the scope of the destruction.
The pictures and videos look just horrible, so it’s a blessing that there are relatively few injuries, and no deaths reported.
Folks in the Hattiesburg area are in my prayers tonight.
Thanks for the ping and post!
I was going to call you tomorrow to check on Mr. penelopesire’s family. Lots of devastation, but Praise God, no deaths reported. We just had intermittent, severe t-storms, that caused lights to flicker and TV reception to go haywire.
I had no idea ...one of my best pals ever from my youth lives there
did the whole Prep, Riverside Park early 70s, Matthews Brake, Ole Miss roomie, mountains out west traveling thing together
he’s a lib lawyer and we have obviously drifted apart...hope they are ok..wife and kids and an adopted grandkid too
Praise God everyone is fine. I had been watching the storms earlier while they were over your area and theirs, but stopped after the storms passed. Then poor Hattiesburg gets hit! Looks like it had to be a f3 at least! Very scary.
Shocked by the news this morning, as I’m in Florida and heard nothing about this until my mother-in-law called from Wisconsin to let me know.
Lived in the Hub City for 30 years and graduated from USM. Most of my friends and classmates are no longer there and moved as I have for economic reasons. From what I can see on the net, I’m devastated by this, looks like far more damage locally to “my town” than when Katrina went through, especially to the campus.
My mom’s fine, thank goodness. House is fine, power is on. She’s so excited, she told me when I phoned worried as all get out, that she’s going to her friend’s brand new house for the first time to play bridge today.
I’m hearing it was very fortunate that the USM campus was off for the next three days due to Mardi Gras. Probably saved at least a few lives.
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