Emergency workers continued to evaluate the damage caused by severe storms in Columbia, Mississippi, about 80 miles southeast of the state capital of Jackson on Wednesday. Four people were killed in Marion and Jones counties, including three who died in mobile homes and another was killed at a business.
Some 40 businesses and 30 homes were damaged in Columbia, Gov. Phil Bryant said. About 10 to 15 buildings were damaged in the more rural Jones County. Columbia Mayor Robert Bourne said the tornado straddled U.S. 98, so damage was on both sides of the four-lane highway. Bryant had said earlier that the tornado cut a swath of about 3 to 3.5 miles long through Columbia and about a quarter of a mile wide.
