City of Canton hit hard by severe storms overnight

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Canton Mayor William Truly says the storm hit fast Thursday morning and unexpectedly, leaving debris behind everywhere.

Part of a metal roof is at the doorstep of one downtown business. The mayor says today is the first step in the long road to recovery.

City workers are working nonstop to remove debris and make repairs to homes and businesses around Canton.

“This was so sudden, It was so acute, there were no warnings, no one was expecting this and no sirens went off,” Mayor Truly said.

The mayor says strong winds bent this metal pole causing it to fall into a department store downtown and that most of the damage was to the downtown area.

“I think it was just a hard straight wind that did all of this damage and it’s just a warning to other communities you never know, it may not be a tornado, it might just be a hard wind of about 60 or 80 miles per hour,” the mayor said.

Several rooftops were also destroyed. Metal debris from roofs scattered in the streets and in front of businesses.

Trees also toppled over some homes and vehicles, and one resident says a tree fell on his food truck.

But in the meantime, Truly says city crews will continue to make repairs and assess storm damage in the area.

“Basically cleaning up…. We have leaves and trash and debris. So we are basically cleaning that up and making assessments of the damage so that we can report that to MEMA or FEMA,” Mayor Truly said.

Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Copyright 2023 WLBT. All rights reserved.