One dead after Pontotoc County, MS storms

MEMPHIS, Tenn. —The outbreak of storms hit all over the Mid-South, and parts of Mississippi were no exception. One person was killed and over a hundred homes were damaged in Pontotoc County, MS after severe storms pummeled the area.

Jocelyn Shackelford lives in the college hills subdivision off highway 6…one of the locations in Pontotoc county left in shambles early Saturday morning by what is believed to be a tornado.

“By the time we got down that’s when the tornado comes through and it just shook our house really, really hard,” Shackelford said. “I instantly called my aunt and she’s like, ‘well, somebody’s up here saying ‘help.'”

Shackelford lives across the street from where a neighbor’s house was flattened and blown away. In a terrifying moment, a husband, wife, and several children were injured. The father reportedly died from his injuries.

That was heartbreaking news for Shackelford.

“I actually did. I knew them up there. It was our neighbors. We were acquainted with them so we knew them,” Shackelford said.

In the area of Highways 15 and 41 there are more houses damaged, with trees twisted and a vehicle turned on its side and there are more stories of survival.

Erica Wood and her husband found shelter in a bedroom closet moments before powerful winds hit. They hunkered down and prayed.

“…and then we told each other that we loved each other and then we felt the walls shake and it got real quiet and then real loud and then we started seeing stuff come under the closet door…debris..and then it was over in about ten seconds,” Wood said.

They were not injured but their home is unlivable for now

Though the national weather service has yet to survey damage in Pontotoc county to determine if a tornado indeed hit the area. The county’s EMA director is certain a twister caused the damage.

“The tree tops were twisted out, which is a classic sign of a rotating storm cell,”

If you’d like to help, you can donate to help tornado victims here.