{"id":5752,"date":"2026-05-07T03:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T10:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7637509\/hundreds-of-homes-damaged-in-mississippi-storms-as-multiple-tornadoes-reported\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T18:15:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T01:15:14","slug":"survivors-of-mississippi-tornadoes-crawled-under-furniture-and-held-onto-their-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5752\/survivors-of-mississippi-tornadoes-crawled-under-furniture-and-held-onto-their-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Survivors of Mississippi tornadoes crawled under furniture and held onto their kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOGUE CHITTO, Miss. (AP) \u2014 Anunciata Schwebel could only watch in horror on FaceTime while her friend and tenant slunk into a bathtub to take cover from one of several tornadoes<\/a> that slammed into Mississippi just after sunset Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Her friend screamed that the windows were breaking. Schwebel could see on her screen the devastation to the cluster of cottages she owned in the town of Purvis \u2014 walls and roofs ripped away, her tenants huddled in their bathrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could see a line of people sitting in their tubs,\u201d Schwebel said Thursday. \u201cWe thought people were dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, for a second time<\/a> in less than a month, a big burst of tornadoes caused no deaths. Authorities estimated that 500 homes were damaged across five counties Wednesday and said at least 17 people were injured. The powerful storms spawned at least three tornadoes across the bottom half of Mississippi that could be seen on weather radar, meteorologists said, possibly more. <\/p>\n

Tornado flipped home and \u2018scattered everybody\u2019 <\/p>\n

Survivors told stories of crawling under furniture while winds tore off the roof and of hiding in a closet, holding on to a child. At Coaltown Baptist Church in Purvis, members hunkered down in a hallway, singing and praying until the storm passed.<\/p>\n

A dozen people were hurt at a trailer park in the small community of Bogue Chitto, in rural Lincoln County, said Scott Simmons, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. <\/p>\n

Most of the two dozen homes were flattened into heaps<\/a> of splintered boards and twisted metal. People picked through the debris Thursday morning under cloudy skies as a chain saw buzzed in the background.<\/p>\n

Krystal Miller and six others \u2014 including babies as young as 4 weeks old \u2014 grabbed a Bible and sheltered in their hallway when the tornado sent their home cartwheeling through the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just flipped, and it threw us all out,\u201d she said. \u201cIt scattered everybody out. … I can\u2019t find the Bible.\u201d <\/p>\n

Her young son was in the hospital for monitoring and another child was injured in the face, she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe trailer is in pieces but we made it out,\u201d Miller said. \u201cI’m feeling grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Max Mahaffey was with his 59-year-old grandmother and watching TikTok videos on his phone when they realized the tornado was bearing down. They ran to the bathroom, but when the roof was torn off, they crawled to the living room and hid under a couch, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou heard screaming, glass breaking, horns honking \u2014 everything,\u201d said the 15-year-old. <\/p>\n

Survivors grateful to be alive<\/p>\n

Dmell Burnes didn’t realize his home was in the tornado\u2019s path until seconds before it struck. The house shook as he covered his 11-year-old daughter in his arms, but the frame inside the closet where they protected themselves held even as the home\u2019s walls and roof came apart.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of the most scariest moments of my life. Me and my daughter were praying,\u201d Burnes said while standing on what was left from his trailer. \u201cWe\u2019re just grateful to be alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents dug out jackets, school backpacks, Bibles and a watch \u2014 whatever was salvageable.<\/p>\n

A storm chaser walking through the debris early Thursday heard a meow but feared the worst when the cries stopped after a few minutes of searching. But after picking through insulation, Ashton Lemley found a tiny kitten<\/a>, hiding between two wooden posts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in these situations so many times,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t try to get overly emotional. But it is very heartbreaking to see any type of animal or human go through something like that.\u201d <\/p>\n

Debris closed interstate in southern Mississippi<\/p>\n

National Weather Service meteorologist Daniel Lamb said at least three tornadoes caused significant damage. Investigators plan to survey other areas to determine if more touched down. <\/p>\n

\u201cPray for Mississippi,\u201d Gov. Tate Reeves posted online, saying the state Emergency Management Agency was coordinating response efforts. <\/p>\n

Debris from the storms closed Interstate 55 and many other roads in Lincoln County. The governor said a volunteer rescue group was providing a 50-person shelter and supplies to the county, which reported at least 200 damaged homes. <\/p>\n

Lamar County to the southeast reported about 275 homes damaged, according to the Emergency Management Agency.<\/p>\n

Alisha Marbury was teary eyed as she surveyed the wreckage in Bogue Chitto. Still, she counted her community blessed since it appeared no one had died. Many of the people she knew at the trailer park had been away at work, she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cGod spared us,\u201d Marbury added. \u201cHouses and homes and cars and stuff are replaceable, but your life ain\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Rico reported from Atlanta and McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed. <\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
People stand among debris at Gene’s Mobile Home Supply, a trailer park in Bogue Chitto, Miss., Thursday, May, 7, 2026, after a tornado cut across the state. (AP Photo\/Gerald Herbert)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
A person stands among debris at Gene’s Mobile Home Supply, a trailer park in Bogue Chitto, Miss., Thursday, May, 7, 2026, after a tornado cut across the state. (AP Photo\/Gerald Herbert)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
People stand among debris at Gene’s Mobile Home Supply, a trailer park in Bogue Chitto, Miss., Thursday, May, 7, 2026, after a tornado cut across the state. (AP Photo\/Gerald Herbert)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
Logan Branch eats a hotdog as he sits among the debris of what is left of his home at Gene’s Mobile Home Supply, a trailer park in Bogue Chitto, Miss., Thursday, May, 7, 2026, after a tornado cut across the state. (AP Photo\/Gerald Herbert)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BOGUE CHITTO, Miss. (AP) \u2014 Anunciata Schwebel could only watch in horror on FaceTime while her friend and tenant slunk into a bathtub to take cover from one of several tornadoes that slammed into Mississippi just after sunset Wednesday. Her friend screamed that the windows were breaking. Schwebel could see on her screen the devastation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":5757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"guid":"51b1ca39-0108-4c77-9e6c-f41602a77996","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"Jack Brook, R.j. Rico And Kathy Mccormack","published":"2026-05-07 03:30:13","updated":"2026-05-07 17:59:44","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1303,1304],"tags":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-5752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5752\/survivors-of-mississippi-tornadoes-crawled-under-furniture-and-held-onto-their-kids\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Survivors of Mississippi tornadoes crawled under furniture and held onto their kids","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5752\/survivors-of-mississippi-tornadoes-crawled-under-furniture-and-held-onto-their-kids\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5752\/survivors-of-mississippi-tornadoes-crawled-under-furniture-and-held-onto-their-kids\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-0de3d02f43103d609e7c7a3aecfdc7cf8cae831990b54cd8ff5d2133e4eca0e2.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-0de3d02f43103d609e7c7a3aecfdc7cf8cae831990b54cd8ff5d2133e4eca0e2.jpg"},"articleSection":"International","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-05-07T10:30:13Z","datePublished":"2026-05-07T10:30:13Z","dateModified":"2026-05-08T01:15:14Z"},"rendered":"