Taya Drummer-Chaney
Staff Writer
The National Weather service confirmed that a tornado touched down in Forrest and Lamar counties in Mississippi on Jan. 21, killing four people.
Jackson State University students who live in residence halls were alerted to the destructive weather system affecting Mississippi via weather alerts and a mass email that advised them to take cover immediately and not to go outside as sirens were sounding. Many students were concerned for family and loved ones living in south Mississippi.
“I was sitting on top of University of Southern Mississippi parking lot garage facing south with the stadium slightly to my left and in that direction you could see a swirl coming that was about eight miles away. I did not think the tornado would actually hit Hattiesburg, but the news report said it would be tornados in the area it was unclear if it was going to touch down in the city,” said Chris Lane, a junior mass communication major from Gulfport, Miss. “Around 3 a.m., I saw that trees had been uprooted and a few vehicles turned over. Later that day, when I heard about the four deaths, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t my uncle. I didn’t want him to be trapped in his home.”
JSU student and Hattiesburg native Centryanna Patterson, also had friends and family directly affected by the tornado.
“…I’m from Hattiesburg and I was upset when I heard what happened. I called my parents, friends, and family to see if they were okay. Some of my friends who attend William Carey University dorms were hit pretty badly and now they’re homeless. I was [very upset] to hear about the four deaths,” said Patterson, a sophomore computer engineering major from Hattiesburg, Miss.
According to www.weather.gov, the tornado gained strength as it ripped through the Forrest County area early Saturday, causing significant damage to homes, loss of power and the loss of four lives. The EF3 tornado damaged nearly all of the buildings on William Carey University’s Hattiesburg campus and left seven students injured, according to published reports.
The State Emergency Operations Center initiated a state of emergency on Jan. 20 after Gov. Phil Bryant ordered that all available resources be used for rescue and recovery.
This storm is déjà vu for many Forrest County residents. In February of 2013, the Hattiesburg community faced a similar situation when tornadoes swept through the area. The powerful EF3 tornado with winds speeds reaching 145 mph, left more than 80 people injured, destroyed approximately 570 homes and mobile homes, left 100 apartments uninhabitable and left thousands of people without. The University of Southern Mississippi’s campus was damaged during this storm.
Rachel Peyton believes that this tornado will bring the community closer like the last one did in 2013.
“The last tornado happened in my senior year of high school. People were reaching out and helping one another when the first one hit. At the time of the tornado, I was in Flowood. I didn’t realize the severity of the tornado until someone texted me asking if my family was okay,” said Peyton, a senior marketing major from Hattiesburg, Miss. “When I heard about the four deaths, it affected me in a way to just turn to prayer.”
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