A tornado has smashed into a commercial district in the small Mississippi city of Columbus, shattering businesses as severe storms raked the South on a weekend of drenching rains and a rising flood threat.
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The tornado that shattered businesses in the east Mississippi city on Saturday afternoon was confirmed on radar, said meteorologist Anna Wolverton with the US National Weather Service in Jackson.
She told The Associated Press that experts would be headed on Sunday to the city of about 23,000 people to gauge the tornado's intensity.
There were no immediate reports of any deaths or injuries.
Elsewhere around the South, homes, highways, parks and bridges have been flooded or put out of commission amid the heavy rains and severe storms.
News outlets report that water rescues have been performed in some Middle Tennessee counties. Flash flood warnings and watches remained in place throughout the South and one Mississippi community reported large hail.
Weather officials said the vast storm system threatened areas from eastern Arkansas far across the South to northern Georgia and beyond. And Alabama's governor declared a state of emergency in several counties, hoping to speed recovery in event of damages.
The Ohio River at Cairo is predicted to crest on Sunday at its third-highest level ever recorded, and stay that high into next week.
The Tennessee River near Savannah, Tennessee, also is forecast to crest at near-record levels.
Australian Associated Press
