Hattiesburg American from Hattiesburg, Mississippi • 1

HATTIESBURG SPORTS From Latvia love WEATHER having big i 4 1,, Thunderstorms. i i i i impact on Laay Hich fiR lnA w. "71 Eagles, IB MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2013 A GANNETT COMPANY hattiesburgamerican.com Tornado rips through Pine Belt x- 3-rUftVk5 ftxbJ fif P) 41l Cv. 11 J- Tf ft li i Ti iT-iiiuiiirfcifi iii.iia hiiimI; 9wim'flPf it'i hi Hi i i 'iinX'wil'Kiwi i i i The south side of the University of Southern Mississippi campus suffered heavy damage after a tornado hit the area Sunday, ryan moorehattiesburg American LAMAR SCHOOLS CLOSED TODAY 6 academic buildings hit at Southern Miss STATE OF EMERGENCY Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency Sunday evening for Forrest, Lamar, Lawrence and Marion counties.

The State of Emergency is an administrative tool that allows the state to offer support to the areas impacted by this weather event. ROAD CLOSURES The City of Hattiesburg is compiling a list of road closures that will be posted on the city's Facebook and Twitter accounts. PALAZZO STATEMENT Congressman Steven Palazzo issued the following statement: "The people of Hattiesburg and the areas affected by Sunday's severe weather remain in our thoughts and prayers tonight. As we continue to receive reports of damage, I join local officials and emergency responders in urging residents to stay off the roads, call 911 in the case of an emergency or call the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency if they are in need of other assistance: 1-866-519-MEMA 6362)." MISSISSIPPI POWER Mississippi Power crews are working to restore power. As of 9 p.m.

Sunday, crews had restored power to all but about 5,600 customers. SALVATION ARMY Three mobile feeding units will arrive in Hattiesburg this morning to supplement the service of the Hattiesburg Corps of The Salvation Army. By Emily Ham Price and Ellen Ciurczak American Staff Writers Damaged houses. Downed power lines and trees. Debris thrown onto cars.

Pine Belt residents dealt with a mix of all three after a tornado moved through Forrest, Lamar and Marion counties early Sunday evening. Within a 45-minute window, residents witnessed the destructive nature of the long-track tornado as it barreled through the area, leaving a path of damage that included Hardy Street in Hattiesburg, the University of Southern Mississippi campus and homes across the region. Officials reported no deaths related to the tornado. Southern Miss senior Paul Gates was at home when he looked out his window and saw the tornado. "It was a little terrifying for a second," he said.

Gates said he heard the tornado before he saw it. "It sounded like the proverbial freight train," he said. After the tornado passed, Gates headed to Southern Miss to check out the damage. A music major, he wanted to see how the music and performing arts buildings fared. "It was the front of campus that got dam-See TORNADO, Page 6A Oak Grove junior Taylor Braley's truck was tossed from the school's parking lot onto the baseball field during Sunday's tornado, submitted photo Lamar Oak Grove hit hard by tornado Management Director James Smith said the tornado resulted in several injuries that he was aware of, although he couldn't say exactly how many or their severity.

Aside from private property damage, Oak Grove High School was heavily damaged by the tornado. Lamar County Schools Superintendent Ben Burnett said most of the school's athletic facilities were devastated, while the school's building itself also bore some of the storm's brunt. See LAMAR, Page 6A By Jason Munz American Sports Writer The tornado that ripped through the Pine Belt on Sunday uprooted trees, downed power lines and left a bevy of debris in its wake across much of northern Lamar County. Emergency management officials and volunteer crews across Oak Grove were out in force shortly after the storm passed, working to clear roads and assess the damage. Lamar County Emergency RELATED CONTENT See more photos and video at hattiesburgamerican.com.

See photos from the tornado, 3A HATTIESBURGAMERICAN.COM Log on for local and national news 24 hours a day. INDEX Volume 114 No. 42 Copyright 2013 SB SB Pine Belt Sports Snapshot Sudoku Super Quiz Television 3A 1B 2A 5B 5B 5B Annie's Mailbox Bridge Comics Crime Scene Crossword Opinion DEATHS Rod Byrd Jimmy Dale Shoemaker FULL OBITUARIES 4A VIDEO NETWORK Visit hattiesburgamerican.comvideo 5A $1 retail Home delivery pricing 2A Armstrong-Branch Lecture Guest presenter: James Brown, host of CBS Sports' The NFL Today Monday, Feb. 18 4 7 p.m. Bennett Auditorium www.usm.idu 601.266.5057 i HA-O0O01 50071 XX-..