Tornadoes land in Texas and Mississippi, killing 2 and injuring 6 others | Associated Press

On December 29, 2024By Littum

HOUSTON (AP) – At least two people were killed and six more injured when several tornadoes touched down in Texas and Mississippi on Saturday, damaging homes and overturning vehicles.

One person died in the Liverpool area, which is south of Houston, and four people suffered injuries that were not considered critical, said Madison Polston, spokeswoman for the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office.

Polston said there were “multiple touchdown points” in the county between Liverpool and Hillcrest Village and Alvin. She said officials knew of about 10 damaged homes so far, but were still working to determine the extent of the damage.

In Mississippi, one person died in Adams County and two people were injured in Franklin County, according to a spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. The National Weather Service said two tornadoes touched down around Bude and the town of Brandon, tearing the roofs off several buildings.

“These storms are likely to get much worse tonight and overnight the further east you go,” said Josh Lichter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

It appeared that at least six tornadoes touched down in the Houston area, though they may find there were more as crews go out to survey the damage, Litcher said. He said there was damage in the area from both tornadoes and straight winds.

North of Houston, mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in Katy and Porter Heights, where the doors of a fire station were blown in, the weather service said.

The storms also caused departure delays of more than an hour Saturday afternoon at Houston’s two main airports — Bush Intercontinental and Hobby — according to the website FlightAware.

About 71,000 utility customers were without power in Mississippi, and that number was expected to rise, said Malary White, chief communications officer for the state’s Emergency Management Agency.

The agency had no official injury reports, but expected them to come later. First responders were focused on keeping people safe and making sure everyone was taken care of, according to White.

“We expect more thorough damage assessments starting in the early morning hours,” she said.