The Latest on severe weather in the South (all times local):
4:15 p.m.
Two more deaths have been blamed on the weekend storms that ravaged the South, bringing the death toll to at least eight.
One of the deaths in East Texas was that of a person initially among those injured when a tornado tore through the Caddo Mound State Historical Site during a Native American cultural festival Saturday. Cherokee County Judge Chris Davis says the woman has died of her critical injuries.
The National Weather Service says a tornado rated EF-3 with winds of about 140 mph (225 kph) tore through the Caddo Mound area.
In neighboring Houston County, the sheriff’s office has confirmed one person was killed in Weches, some 6 miles (10 kilometers) southwest of Caddo Mound.
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2:15 p.m.
A party of about two dozen members of a South Carolina music school is finally on its way to China.
Severe thunderstorms Saturday forced them to spend the night at a Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport terminal.
The 38-member entourage from the Horry (OH’-ree) County School of Music, along with 17 chaperones, left Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday for Dallas-Fort Worth, but storms forced their flight to divert to Little Rock, Arkansas.
By the time they finally arrived at DFW, their travel plans had been completely disrupted.
Tour leader Amanda O’Brien said that after some confusion, American Airlines representatives were able to get them on their way to Beijing late Sunday morning.
Airline spokesman Ross Feinstein said the addition of hail to Saturday’s storms and the resulting need to inspect aircraft for resulting damage forced cancellation of 350 flights from DFW Saturday.
DFW Airport spokesman Casey Norton said another 47 DFW-bound flights had to be diverted elsewhere. The result: almost 7,000 people spent the night in DFW terminals, Norton said.
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1:28 p.m.
Three more deaths are confirmed from powerful storms sweeping through the southern United States, bringing the death toll to at least six.
In Louisiana, Deputy Glenn Springfield of the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Department said Sunday that two people died in floodwaters Saturday.
He says 13-year-old Sebastian Omar Martinez died during flash flooding in the community of Bawcomville, near Monroe. Responders pulled him from a drainage canal. Several hours later, a person died in a submerged vehicle near Interstate 20 in Calhoun.
A county employee in Alabama died after being struck by a vehicle while he was helping clear away trees toppled by the storm. Capt. David Agee of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the worker was struck about 2:15 a.m. Sunday near in the Birmingham suburb of Hueytown and died after being taken to a hospital. His name was not immediately released.
Two children died in Texas when a tree fell on a car in which they were riding, and an elderly man was killed when a tree fell on his trailer in Hamilton, Mississippi.
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12:30 p.m.
Authorities say at least 25 people were taken to hospitals for treatment in East Texas after a suspected tornado struck the Caddo Mounds State Historic Site.
Police Chief Jeremy Jackson says the injuries occurred during a Native American cultural event in Alto, Texas. Alto is about 130 miles southeast of Dallas.
Cherokee County Sheriff James Campbell says at least eight of those were injured critically.
Damage to the town’s schools has prompted the Alto Independent School District has canceled all classes until its buildings have been found to be safe.
The National Weather Service was sending a survey team to Alto on Sunday to confirm if the storm was, indeed, a tornado. However, the area had been under a tornado warning at the time the storm hit.
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11:30 a.m.
Local authorities say the intense tornado that struck the Central Texas town of Franklin destroyed 55 homes, a church, four businesses, a duplex and part of the local housing authority building.
Robertson County Judge Charles Ellison told KBTX-TV of Bryan-College Station that the south side of the town of about 1,700 residents is destroyed.
Emergency Management Coordinator Billy Huggins said more than a dozen people were injured in Franklin, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Austin. None of the injuries were thought to be life-threatening.
The National Weather Service rated the tornado EF-3 with winds of about 140 mph (225 kph).
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11:05 a.m.
Authorities in Mississippi have identified the man who they say was killed after a tornado struck his town.
Monroe County Coroner Alan Gurley says 95-year-old Roy Ratliff died late Saturday when a tornado toppled a tree onto Ratliff’s home in the town of Hamilton.
Hamilton, Mississippi, is 140 miles (225 kilometers) southwest of Memphis, Tennessee.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports that a hospital clinic, some apartments, several storage units, a mechanic’s shop and the Hamilton Volunteer Fire Department all had major damage from the tornado.
Another shop and the Monroe County Morgue were destroyed.
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10:45 a.m.
Local emergency management officials say one person is dead after a tornado swept through a northern Mississippi town late Saturday.
Monroe County Road Manager Sonny Clay said at a news conference Sunday that a man was killed in Hamilton when a tree fell on his trailer.
Clay said 19 people were taken to hospitals for treatment, including two in critical condition.
Hamilton, Mississippi, is 140 miles (225 kilometers) southwest of Memphis, Tennessee.
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8:35 a.m.
A possible tornado has left damage in southeastern Alabama on Sunday morning.
Power poles and trees were knocked over and parts of buildings were left hanging across utility lines in Troy, located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Montgomery. A mobile home community was damaged, but no injuries are being reported.
The National Weather Service detected a possible twister on radar, but it’s unclear whether a tornado or straight-line winds caused the damage.
The Storm Prediction Center says trees and power lines are down in Brewton near the Florida line, and some power is out. Homes were damaged about 250 miles (402 kilometers) to the north in Glencoe, and there’s scattered damage south of Birmingham.
About 65,000 homes and businesses are without power in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama along the path of storms crossing the region.
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12:45 a.m.
Multiple people have been reported injured as tornadoes continued to flare along the Mississippi-Alabama state line late Saturday and early Sunday.
Monroe County Coroner Alan Gurley says multiple people were injured and multiple homes were damaged in Hamilton, Mississippi, which is 140 miles (225 kilometers) southwest of Memphis, Tennessee. A tornado was reported in the area at the time.
At least one mobile home was destroyed, throwing a man from the mobile home. No fatalities were reported.
The roof of a hotel in New Albany, Mississippi, was damaged, although the cause was unclear.
A twister hit Vicksburg, Mississippi early Saturday evening. Earlier, two children died in East Texas after a tree fell on their moving car.
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11:30 p.m.
Deadly storms continue to move across the South after spawning suspected tornadoes and damaging several homes.
The National Weather Service says a twister was reported Saturday night in the Vicksburg, Mississippi, area. No injuries were reported, and news footage showed shattered windows and rooftop debris.
In East Texas, authorities say two children were killed when high winds toppled a tree onto the back of the family car while it was in motion. The Angelina County Sheriff’s Office says an 8-year-old and 3-year-old died after the tree hit the back of the car in Lufkin, about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northeast of Houston. The parents in the front seats were not hurt.
The weather service also says preliminary information showed an EF-3 tornado with winds of 140 mph touched down in Franklin, located about 125 miles (200 kilometers) south of Dallas.
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This story has been corrected to show Hamilton, Mississippi is about 140 miles southwest of Memphis, Tennessee, not 60 miles.
