Homes split in half, knocked off foundation after tornado touches down in Vancleave
Drones buzzed over a row of mobile homes on Fox Ridge Road in Vancleave Thursday morning to capture the damage caused by a tornado that touched down around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.
No injuries have been reported, but daylight showed just how extensive the damage was in this neighborhood and on John Smith Road — both off Jim Ramsay Road — about midway between Vancleave and Latimer.
“It was loud,” said Tony Smith, who lives on John Smith Road.
“You could feel it underneath your feet, too,” said Kent Pittsley, who lives across the street.
Trash cans in Smith’s yard were tossed in different directions and a shed was blown down, but damage was much worse a couple miles away on Fox Ridge.
One trailer was cut in half and debris hung in the trees, reminiscent of the scene following Hurricane Katrina.
“It’s condemned,” James Hixenbaugh said of his rental trailer that was lifted off its block foundation by the force of the wind. He lives down the road and had no damage.
Terry Wilson was measuring windows for plywood at his in-law’s house after the storm blew out the windows in the home and his wife’s car sitting out front. The Nissan SUV was moved by the force of the storm, most of the vehicle’s windows were smashed and it was battered by a wishing well as it blew away.
Wilson said his wife was in the home at the time and was house sitting for her sister, whose husband is a traveling nurse. A shed and its contents from the neighbor’s yard blew over and left Mardi Gras beads and other items scattered across the lawn.
Trees were snapped and trampoline frames littered yards far from where they were before the storm.
“All I know is we were blessed,” said Pittsley. Had the tornado hit just a little ways from where it damaged the carport, it would have taken off the roof and maybe worse, he said.
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 9:28 AM.
