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Many Mississippians have begun the recovery process after an outbreak of severe storms and tornadoes came through Friday and Saturday.
The weather system left at least six dead in Mississippi and dozens more injured as Gov. Tate Reeves has declared a State of Emergency. One of the hardest hit areas was Walthall County in Southwest Mississippi where three deaths have been reported and two were missing as of Saturday evening.
"There was five of us in the house," said Tyrene Power of Tylertown as she sat in a vehicle Sunday morning to stay warm outside the remains of her destroyed home. "My husband, my two sons and a friend who came because she's scared of bad weather, and she lives by herself."
What Power endured on Saturday was so disorienting, she said she didn't know what day it was. She did know that the tornado that struck her home came sometime the previous afternoon. She said she knew the weather was bad, but didn't recognize anything that indicated a tornado.
"You know, they say you hear a train," Power said. "We heard no train. It was just the wind and then it was there."
Power said sheet rock fell on her and said that probably protected her from flying glass, but she doesn't remember much of the event including the roof being torn off.
Cynthia Leake, right, of Jayess comforts Mickey Power on Sunday morning in front of the Tylertown home where Power lived before a tornado destroyed it the previous day with Power and four others inside.
"It must have knocked me out," Power said. "I don't remember any of that."
Power said she didn't require medical help, but her friend wasn't as fortunate.
"My friend was taken to the hospital," Power said. "She was hit in the back."
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They were buried under debris
One of her sons, Mickey Power, sat outside in a chair. He had little expression as he spoke.
"It was scary," Mickey said. "It came in from the back and that's when we heard an explosion when the windows blew out. That's when all Hell broke loose."
After the tornado tore the roof off the brick home, Mickey found himself buried under sheet rock and other debris.
"All of us were, basically," Mickey said.
Family friend Cynthia Leake was there with her husband to help with what they could amid destruction and debris blown as far as the eye can see.
"It's unbelievable they survived this," Leake said. "It's a total disaster."
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Mississippi counties reporting storm-related deaths
As of Saturday night, six deaths were attributed to storms in Mississippi.
Walthall County: 3
Jefferson Davis County: 2
Covington County: 1
Friends and others from the area came to remove debris from a home in Tylertown, Mississippi that was destroyed by a tornado while a family was inside.
Mississippi counties reporting storm-related injuries
As of Saturday night, MEMA reported 29 storm-related injuries in Mississippi.
Covington County: 15
Walthall County: 10
Jefferson Davis County: 2
Pike County: 2
Mississippi counties reporting storm damage
According to MEMA, 21 counties have reported damage from the March 14-15 storms as of Saturday night. The agency noted that this report is preliminary and may change during the assessment process.
Calhoun
Carroll
Chickasaw
Covington
Grenada
Hunphreys
Issaquena
Jasper
Jefferson Davis
Lauderdale
Leflore
Marshall
Monroe
Montgomery
Newton
Pike
Sharkey
Simpson
Smith
Walthall
Tina Jordan hugs her husband, Smith County Sheriff's Office Investigator Lee Jordan, as Jordan's daughter-in-law Hartlie Holder walks up with Lee's granddaughter Leighann Holder after a tornado hit Taylorsville, Miss., on Saturday, March 15, 2025. "I cried - I'm not gonna lie - because I'm always the one going in to help other people, but this time it was me," Tina, who used to work for MEMA, said.
More tornadoes, power outages and an earthquake struck Mississippi, too
Saturday appeared to spawn a series of tornadoes across the state. Taylorsville was hit, causing damage throughout the town, but no apparent loss of life as occurred in South Mississippi. The Delta also faced several possible tornadoes a day after several injuries were reported.
An earthquake was also recorded on Saturday near Magee, an area hit by three apparent nearby tornadoes. According to the U.S. Geological survey, a magnitude 3.0 earthquake hit the town at a depth of 10.5 kilometers. Earthquakes in the 3.0 to 3.9 magnitude are considered minor.
As of Sunday afternoon, about 8,900 customers across the state remained without power, according to website PowerOutage.us. Grenada County had nearly 1,400 users without power, while Walthall County had the highest reported outages with 2,188 as of 1:45 p.m. Sunday.
Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MS family buried under debris when tornado destroys home
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