Update 8:00 a.m. ET] No fatalities or injuries have been reported from a possible tornado that touched down Sunday night in Cleveland, Mississippi, authorities said Monday morning.
A Sears store and a Walmart store sustained substantial damage, according to local officials. Downed trees and power lines damaged a nearby subdivision, officials said.
[Update 7:51 a.m. ET] A storm that ripped through Cleveland, Mississippi, on Sunday night destroyed a Sears store and damaged a Walmart and a nearby subdivision, officials said Monday morning.
“We’ve got a mess on our hands,” said Kimberly Broadwater of the Bolivar County Volunteer Fire Department.
There were no deaths or serious injuries, but the local hospital had stopped taking patients, Broadwater said.
The county’s communication network had been knocked out, according to Broadwater. “We are back to doing things the old-fashioned way – by telephone,” she said.
Earlier, the NOAA Storm Prediction Center sent out an alert that a tornado had touched down, but authorities were still trying to determine if the damage was done by a tornado or straight-line winds.
[Updated 7:33 a.m. ET] Officials said they are assessing damage Monday morning to determine if a storm that moved through Cleveland, Mississippi, on Sunday night destroying the roof at a Walmart was a tornado or a band of straight line winds.
An alert was sent out Sunday evening that a tornado touched down in Cleveland, Mississippi, but authorities are still trying to determine if a tornado was responsible for the heavy damage to Walmart, Sears and a nearby subdivision.
The storm caused some structural damage, but the damage was fairly scattered, Bolivar County Sheriff’s Officer Lee Tedder told CNN. No fatalities or serious injuries were reported.
