Yazoo City Ms

A large tornado hit Yazoo City in west-central Mississippi Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Numerous buildings in the twister’s path were destroyed. A NWS spokesman says the tornado was 3/4 of a mile wide. It hit the Mississippi cities of Valley Park, Yazoo City and Durant. 

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Greg Flynn says officials in three counties were conducting a “massive response.” Jim Pollard, public affairs manager for American Medical Response ambulance service, told the Associated Press the company dispatched 11 ambulances to Yazoo City. He says one person with significant injuries was airlifted to a Jackson hospital.

Roy Wilson, the fire chief of Yazoo City, told CNN that 20 to 30 homes were destroyed in a nearby city. Wilson said some people were trapped inside some structures. He said he didn’t yet have confirmed numbers on injuries.

“It’s in pretty bad shape so far,” he told CNN of the city.

I gotta tell you, people always say how dangerous it is to live in California, with all the earthquakes and wildfires. But I’ll take that over tornados any day. I lived in Georgia for two years, and the threat of tornados was a constant for months on end. People were losing their homes all the time. I hope the folks in Mississippi are OK.