Tuesday’s severe weather left some residents in Pearl River County with debris to pick up and damage to their homes.
Pearl River County Emergency Management Director Danny Manley said there were possible tornado strikes in the Henleyfield, Derby and Amacker communities.
District V Supervisor Sandy Kane Smith, along with District II Supervisor Malcolm Perry performed damage assessments alongside Manley, county employees and representatives from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
“There were 15 mobile homes and houses that received minor damage and three homes received major damage,” Smith said. “One home on Thomas School Road flooded. There were no deaths. We were very lucky.”
The Fisk family live on Fox Run North and weren’t home at the time of the storm. They lost their pool enclosure, freezer shed and the garage door caved in. The family’s trampoline, which was staked to the ground, was blown into a tree. Numerous downed trees littered their yard, but there was minor damage to their house.
“It could have been a lot worse,” D.J. Fisk said. “You can see the path the storm took through the trees. If it had been about 50 feet closer, it would have taken the house. I’m glad that my family is good and we have a roof over our heads.”
Further down Fox Run North, Terry and Kim Johnson were sitting in their home when they heard the storm approach.
“It sounded like that sound the automatic carwash makes,” Kim Johnson said. “The storm made a hole in the shop roof and it sucked two blankets out, which landed on the ground.”
A tree fell on the Johnson’s home and debris littered the back yard. Kim Johnson said she believes one of their cars in the yard was lifted because they found it sitting on top of tires.
At about 3 p.m., Jill Burks, her daughter and grandson were sitting in their home on Hobart Walker Road, when the storm approached.
“I heard the train sound and saw the trees moving,” Burks said. “Then I felt the pressure on the house. It was a pretty fast and strong storm.”
The storm destroyed two of the family’s barns, which housed about 15 horses that were trapped inside the structure, she
said.
“Me and my daughter Sarah and friends Danny Wise, Walter Scott and Herbert Theriot got the horses out,” Burks said. “The horses have a few nicks, but they’re fine. After the storm passed, a bunch of neighbors came by and helped. I’m thankful the good Lord looked out for us. It could have been worse. Barns can replaced but people can’t.”
Peggy Lowe was sitting in her chair in her home on South Valley Road watching television when she noticed something strange happening in the pond in her front yard.
“I saw the water moving off the pond,” she said. “I knew I needed to get somewhere safe. We have a cellar, but the lights were out and I knew I couldn’t make it down the steps.”
Lowe and her dog Tootsie went into the bathroom and sat in the tub, where she called her brother. Lowe said the time was 4 p.m.
“I could hear the windows breaking, water dripping and doors slamming,” she said. “It was over by 4:18 p.m., that’s when I called my other brother.”
The roof of her home is gone, windows blown out and downed trees litter the yard, along with metal fragments from her roof. The hay barn was also destroyed.
However, two of Lowe’s china cabinets stand untouched, filled with intact figurines.
“God was looking out for me,” she said. “I’m blessed that I can walk out. There’s so much of the house still standing, we are going to rebuild.”
In the next couple of days, representatives from the National Weather Service will visit the county to test for tornado activity, Smith said.
The county road department will be assisting with wood debris removal, he added.
“We ask that people only bring their wood debris to the county right of way and they will pick it up,” Smith said. “The wood also has to be separated.”
Residents who sustained structural damage to their home or roof and have not reported it to the county may contact the EOC at 601-798-3058, Smith said. The county can only assess damage done to the home and its roof or a structure connected to the home, he added.