Tornado knocks down walls of Miss. medical center

There were about 15 patients in hospital rooms and eight or nine in the ER when it struck.

April 29, 2014 05:41 AM

Ambulances gather outside the Winston Medical Center in Louisville, Miss., Monday, April 28, 2014 after a tornado hit the small hospital as well as several homes in the community. At least three tornadoes flattened homes and businesses, flipped trucks over on highways and injured numerous people in Mississippi and Alabama as a massive, dangerous storm system passed over several states in the South. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

By Jeff Amy
The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Miss. — A tornado has damaged the Winston Medical Center in Louisville (LEW-is-vil), Miss.

University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson spokesman Jack Mazurak (MAZ-er-ak) says it knocked down two walls, damaged a third and caused a gas leak Monday evening.

The hospital staff says no one died. There were about 15 patients in hospital rooms and eight or nine in the emergency room.

Mazurak says a trauma patient was being sent to the university hospital, which was sending three people to assess and help conduct triage.

Louisville police and state officials report injuries from the storm.

Louisville is the Winston County seat and has about 6,600 residents. It’s about 90 miles northeast of Jackson.

The hospital is diverting patients to the hospital in Starkville and more severe cases to the UniversityMedical Center in Jackson.

Disaster Management