Tornadoes touch down in Texas and Mississippi, killing 2 and injuring 6 others

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

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

Polston said there were “several touchdown points” in the county between Liverpool and Hillcrest Village and Alvin. She said so far officials were aware of about 10 damaged homes 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, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said. The National Weather Service said two tornadoes struck around Bude and the city of Brandon, ripping 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 at least six tornadoes touched down in the Houston area, although they might discover there were more if crews went out to inspect the damage, Litcher said. He said there was damage in the area from both tornadoes and straight-line winds.

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

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

About 71,000 utilities 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 did not have official damage reports, but expected them to come in later. According to White, first responders were focused on keeping people safe and making sure everyone was checked out.

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