BREAKING NEWS: 1 person killed in Rita-spawned tornado in MS

[LAwxrgal]

per MSNBC. I'll try to find confirmation.

[WeatherEmperor]

darn. i was really hoping they could get through this hurricane without any casualties.

<RICKY>

[wlfpack81]

It's confirmed on the SPC storm reports page:

Tme Location County State Lat Lon Comments
2113 BELZONI HUMPHREYS MS 3318 9049 *** 1 FATAL *** EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO 2 SUBDIVISIONS IN BELZONI WITH NUMEROUS INJURIES ALSO. (JAN)

[LAwxrgal]

The town's name is Belzoni (sp?) in north central Mississippi.

[HurryKane]

Damn. Even Mississippi can't catch a break. Thoughts go out to the victim and family.

[Radar]

Yes here in MS we got more of Rita then we were bargaining for. Fortunately most of the damage was slight flooding from the surge. However, my heart goes out to the family and friends of the person killed by the tornado... Ok, I've had enough this season, ride over, let me off!

[Brent]

Several mobile homes overturned...

When will people learn to not stay in those?

[HurryKane]

Several mobile homes overturned...

When will people learn to not stay in those?

Unfortunately, some people don't have any other option--there usually isn't a whole lot of time to get to a sturdy building or other shelter once a tornado warning has been issued, especially if you live in the back of a trailer park or in a single trailer on acres of land in a rural area.

[Brent]

Several mobile homes overturned...

When will people learn to not stay in those?

Unfortunately, some people don't have any other option--there usually isn't a whole lot of time to get to a sturdy building or other shelter once a tornado warning has been issued, especially if you live in the back of a trailer park or in a single trailer on acres of land in a rural area.

I understand that... but considering a 50 mph gust(which you can get well inland and Rita is likely still producing as I type) can damage a mobile home, they are not wise to stay in, tornado or not.

[timNms]

Several mobile homes overturned...

When will people learn to not stay in those?

Unfortunately, some people don't have any other option--there usually isn't a whole lot of time to get to a sturdy building or other shelter once a tornado warning has been issued, especially if you live in the back of a trailer park or in a single trailer on acres of land in a rural area.

I understand that... but considering a 50 mph gust(which you can get well inland and Rita is likely still producing as I type) can damage a mobile home, they are not wise to stay in, tornado or not.

While I agree with you, it isn't wise to stay in a mobile home during times such as these, we have to remember that the town of Belzoni is located north of Jackson. Those people were not in an evacuation area and had probably not thought about the danger of tornadoes (although NWS mentioned that possibility numerous times). Besides not being in an evacuation zone, I'd venture to guess that many of the residents living in mobile homes have no where else to go.

[jhamps10]

yeah they were under a torando watch, people should have been at least a little bit aware that one could form. Hey I live in torando alley, trust me a torando is something you should not be in a mobile home during one.

[bombarderoazul]

Shepard Smith from Fox news went along with some firefighters to check on some houses where people stayed behind, on one house they found a dead guy. I believe a person was killed in Florida too when rita was a Cat 2. By the time the body count is done I think Rita probably killed less than 10 people.

[digitaldahling]

yeah they were under a torando watch, people should have been at least a little bit aware that one could form.

Tornado watches, if you liken them to hurricane watches, are no reason to leave your home. You pay attention to the weather more closely, but you don't leave. A tornado can drop down in an instant and be gone just as quickly. Sometimes you have no time to leave. And sometimes you have no other place to go.

Not many places have sirens/warning signals to alert you to a tornado, some are obscured by heavy rains and others just appear out of the clouds with no time for a warning. I lost count of the number of tornado warnings issued in Mississippi tonight. There may be just as many tomorrow.

[Brent]

17 confirmed tornadoes as of several hours ago... probably higher now.