Damage Reports Mount In Monroe County

AMORY, Miss. (AP) – Trees and buildings are damaged in Monroe County after a possible tornado hit Amory and Smithville.

Monroe County Emergency Management Agency Director Robert “Bunky” Goza says no deaths or injuries were reported from the storm, which hit about 9 a.m. Monday.

Goza says tree damage is widespread in central Amory, with power out. Harbormaster Scott Cox says trees and boat sheds were damaged at the Smithville Marina.

Marlene Mickelson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Memphis, Tennessee, says forecasters observed a severe thunderstorm with rotation. She says a Weather Service team will survey damage and determine if it was caused by a tornado.

The storm appears to have been less severe than the 2011 tornado that destroyed most buildings in Smithville, killing 17 people in Monroe County.