Multiple Mississippi school districts are closed today after powerful storms and tornadoes pummeled the state overnight, causing injuries and property damage across several southwest and Pine Belt counties.

As of this morning, 275 homes and 50 apartments were damaged or inaccessible in Lamar County, Mississippi, with debris from the storms forcing 30 road closures, Gov. Tate Reeves posted on social media. More than 200 homes were also damaged in nearby Lincoln County, where the storm destroyed several trailer parks in the unincorporated Bogue Chitto community. 

Twelve homes sustained damage in Lawrence County, and the state has also received reports of damage in Wilkinson County. The governor stressed that these numbers are preliminary and likely to grow as damage assessments continue.

“Please continue to pray for Mississippi!” Reeves wrote on social media, noting that the American Red Cross and Cajun Navy are on site supporting storm victims in Lamar and Lincoln counties.

A view of a wide green space past the roadside with cut tree limbs lining the road, and large building debris further on the propery
An overnight tornado destroyed homes in the Wash Trailer Park in the unincorporated Lincoln County community of Bogue Chitto, Miss., on the evening of May 6, 2026. Photo by Brett Campbell/The Daily Leader

A total of 17 injuries have been reported to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency as of Thursday morning: 12 in Lincoln County, four in Lamar County and one in Franklin County. No weather-related fatalities have been reported so far, the agency said in a news release. MEMA says at least three tornadoes struck the state on Wednesday evening.

Scott Simmons, a spokesperson for the MEMA, said 12 of those hurt were transported from trailers destroyed in the storm.

Most of the two dozen homes at Gene’s Mobile Home Supply were flattened into heaps of splintered boards and twisted metal. People picked through the debris Thursday morning under cloudy skies as a chainsaw buzzed in the background. 

“I was just watching TikTok on my bed and thought it was thunder. I went to my living room. I went back to my room, and the room’s gone,” resident Max Mahaffey told WAPT-TV.

He said he wasn’t injured, but his grandmother hurt her ankle and some of his neighbors suffered cuts and bruises. One intact trailer lay flipped on its roof near the tree line. Several cars, some with hazard lights blinking, appeared to have been picked up by the storm.

Schools in Lawrence, Franklin and Lincoln counties are closed today due to the severe weather, and the Brookhaven School District is also closed, WLBT and WAPT reported this morning. Meanwhile, emergency personnel are responding to more than 15,600 power outages statewide.

A gas station with a sign that reads 'Economy Service Station' showing signs of tornado damage to the roof
Tillotson’s Service Station on Hwy. 51 in Brookhaven, Miss., suffered damage in a storm that produced a tornado during the night of May 6, 2026. Photo by Brett Campbell/The Daily Leader

MEMA says storm survivors in southwest Mississippi can visit emergency shelters at the following locations:

  • Lamar County Safe Room, 99 Central Industrial Row, Purvis, MS, 39475
  • Lincoln County Safe Room, 1154 Belt Line Dr., Brookhaven, MS, 39601

The agency also encourages residents who’ve suffered property damage to take the following steps:

  • File an insurance claim.
  • Take photos of the damage to the home.
  • Report damage to county/MEMA via the self-report tool.

More storms were expected Thursday with the possibility of tornadoes across parts of Alabama, Georgia and Florida, the weather service said. Strong storms were also possible for parts of the Carolinas and Texas.

Environmental Reporter Illan Ireland is Mississippi Free Press’s bilingual environmental reporter in partnership with Report for America. Prior to joining the Mississippi Free Press, he completed a fellowship with The Futuro Media Group in New York City, taking on projects related to public health, climate change and housing insecurity. His freelance work has appeared in City Limits and various Futuro Media properties. Illan holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.S. from the Columbia Journalism School, where he spent a year covering the drug overdose crisis unfolding in New York City. He’s a Chicago native, a proud Mexican American and a lover of movies, soccer and unreasonably spicy foods. You can reach him at illan@mississippifreepress.org.

Jack Brook covers Louisiana government, infrastructure and environmental issues from New Orleans. He is a Report for America corps member.

Kathy McCormack is a journalist for the Associated Press.

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