Cleanup efforts continue today throughout parts of Mississippi following a line of severe thunderstorms that rumbled across the state Saturday, bringing with it strong straight-line winds, heavy rain, some tornadoes, flooding and widespread power outages. Outgoing Governor Phil Bryant signed an emergency declaration late Saturday after assessing the damage. Several counties reported property damage and there were also reports of injuries in Marshall County, but there were no deaths. The National Weather Service reports that an EF0 tornado struck parts of Scott County. The extent of the damage is still being assessed.
The power is back on Parchman. Saturday's storms knocked out electrical service at the state penitentiary and at a regional prison in Cleveland with generators used to power both facilities. Service was restored at Parchman last night. The Department of Corrections says nobody was hurt at the prisons as the storms blew through. And the inmate population at Parchman is now significantly smaller after the transfer of 375 prisoners to the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility was completed Sunday. Those inmates were moved to the privately-operated prison in Tutwiler in response to the recent violence that left three inmates dead at Parchman. They'll be there for at least 90 days and the state has an option to extend their stay.
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