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- A 41-year-old woman died after being caught in a building that collapsed.
- His death is the first tornado death of 2019.
- Significant damage has been reported in Columbus, Mississippi.
- The television channel WCBI News lost power during the storm in Columbus and alerted the public via Facebook Live.
A series of severe thunderstorms spawned several tornadoes in the south on Saturday, including one that killed one person and caused significant damage in Columbus, Mississippi.
Ashley Glynell Pounds, 41, of Tupelo, Mississippi, was one of four people occupying a building that collapsed during the storm in Columbus.the dispatch reported. She was taken to the hospital and died during a surgical operation, said Greg Fitzger coroner of Lowndes County. Pounds' death is the first tornado death of 2019.
City officials said at least five people had been hospitalized for life-threatening injuries, including a broken arm and another leg. Columbus, a town of about 24,000, is 50 miles west of Birmingham, Alabama.
The storm struck around 5:15 pm, destroying several buildings and houses and leaving thousands of people without electricity.
(MORE: Evacuations and rescues in Mississippi, Tennessee as rains continue in the deep south)
The National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi, said the tornado had been confirmed by radar. A team travels to Columbus Sunday to measure the intensity of the tornado.
According to the Associated Press, four buildings on the ground where Lee Lawrence had been selling used cars for decades have been destroyed.
Lawrence said trees had rolled over the vehicles and the windows of the cars had been blown. A 1923 Studebaker and a 1930 Chevrolet were among the cars under the debris.
"The wind suddenly became so violent and it was raining so hard that you could barely see through the door, and I heard a roar, obviously it approached," Lawrence told AP.
The television channel WCBI News lost electricity during the storm in Columbus and alerted the public of the dangerous situation in progress via Facebook Live.
Dax Clark, a meteorological student at Mississippi State University, told weather.com that classmates had sought refuge at a gas station while the tornado was crossing Columbus.
"Our radar told us that the tornado was moving north of us, but the wind was still so crazy," Clark said. "It did not directly affect our gas station, but it was still pretty important."
Clark said he and his friends had to convince the other customers at the gas station to get away from the windows and go to the bathroom.
Clark said he witnessed major damage as they left the city of about 24,000 residents.
"We saw houses with no roof and exterior walls, a car spilled into a ditch and a lot of trees and power lines down," Clark said.
A tornado was also reported in Burnsville, Mississippi.
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This photo shows the damage that occurred at Lawrence Motors, Columbus, Missouri, on Saturday, February 23, 2019, as a result of a tornado in the downtown core. According to witnesses, a tornado destroyed or severely damaged several businesses in the city's commercial district, which knocked down trees and shut down power at the local level. (AP Photo / Jim Lytle)
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