Storms Kill 7 in US Mississippi

Strong storms killed 7 people in northern Mississippi and damaged numerous buildings in Arkansas and Mississippi, authorities said Sunday.

One 18-month-old boy in Arkansas died Sunday of his injuries, local authorities reported.

"There's damage to subdivisions, homes, businesses. We've had two churches destroyed," said Amy Bissell, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

Pontotoc County Sheriff Leo Mask said 30 to 40 people were injured and 250 to 300 homes were damaged. "A lot were destroyed," he said.

Mask said the storm cut a path nearly 24 miles long and between 100 yards and 3/4-mile wide.

Though electric power was knocked out for much of the county overnight, by Sunday afternoon it had largely been restored, said Bissell.

Heavy damage was also reported in Lee, Tallahatchie and Prentis counties.








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