COLLINS, Miss.–A tornado hit rural Covington County just after 2 a.m. Monday as a system that brought severe weather and flooding swept across Mississippi.
Covington County Emergency Management Director Greg Sanford told News Mississippi that the twister touched down north of Collins, crossed Hwy. 49 and headed to the northeast. It stayed on the ground until it left the county.
Sanford said the twister affected mostly rural areas, but the Hot Coffee community took a hit, leaving the area without power. It had not been restored by early Monday.
“Too much damage to infrastructure,” said Sanford.
Sanford confirmed there were people hurt.
“I don’t have a number on injuries, but I do know we have had some.”
The tornado hit an apartment complex, confirmed Sanford, but none of the injuries were from that incident.
Crews were scrambling to clear roadways in the dark, working with chainsaws to get trees out of the way, so that a more accurate damage assessment could be made.
