On December 5, 1953, the city of Vicksburg, MS was visited by a devastating tornado. The tornado was rated F5 on the Fujita Scale. Tragically 38 people were killed and 270 others were injured.
The funnel first formed in Madison County, LA. It moved to the northeast and crossed the Mississippi River. As the tornado crossed the river, it devastated an industrial park. The twister then plowed into downtown Vicksburg. As it moved through downtown, numerous buildings were damaged or destroyed. One of the most tragic events from the tornado occurred downtown. Per Tornadotalk.com: At the Saenger Theatre, Stephanie Mitchell was celebrating her 10th birthday. She was there with her mom, her sister, and a few of her friends. The theatre was directly in the center of the tornado’s path. The ceiling and the wall collapsed, trapping several people under debris. Sadly, five children, all under the age of ten were killed at the theatre.
Damage to the Saenger Theatre. Moncrief Photograph Collection, ID #819, Mississippi Department of Archives & History, http://www.mdah.state.ms.us
The twister continued moving northeast, and it hit the Happyland Nursery, sadly two toddlers were killed here. North of downtown, residential areas were decimated resulting in more fatalities. It passed through the western portion of the Vicksburg National Military Park, causing considerable damage. The tornado moved through Waltersville before it dissipated. Here 17 homes and a church were destroyed. https://youtu.be/bOGXFpi1QNM
For more details on this historical event, check out the full summary from our friends at tornadotalk.com. Tornado Talk also has an archived podcast about this event. They created 36 episodes of the podcast in 2016-2017. Here is the story of Vicksburg!
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