Tornadoes Hit 6 Southern States; Rain Shuts Festival

Thunderstorms with tornadoes, high wind and heavy rain killed at least eight people, left thousands without power and some without roofs, and shut down most of Friday’s session of a New Orleans jazz festival.

More than 11 inches of rain fell at one town in Louisiana. The storms also caused scattered roof, tree and power line damage in South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama, the National Weather Service reported. Hail as big as baseballs fell early in the day near Lufkin in East Texas.

In New Orleans, the storm damaged nearly all of the 10 stages and tents of the Jazz and Heritage Festival, said spokeswoman Anna Zimmerman.

Concerts Canceled

Friday’s activities--including dozens of concerts on stages and tents set up among food booths and craft exhibits--were canceled to allow crews to repair damage.

Several tornadoes roared through the Texas town of Granbury late Thursday, sending 22 people to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

“It was just like they always said: You could hear it coming, it came and then we shook for a long time. We all prayed,” said Elvin Funkhouser. He and his wife, Janet, lay in their ground-floor kitchen while twisters shredded the second story of their home in a subdivision near Granbury.

Hood County Sheriff Edwin Tomlinson said at least 15 trailers and homes were destroyed, with about 200 others damaged. But Red Cross spokesman Richard Hensley said 65 trailers and houses were destroyed.

Reports of Tornadoes

Tornadoes and funnel clouds also were reported elsewhere in Texas, as well as in Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Georgia.

At least one person died and several people were injured near Boiling Springs, S.C., when a tornado touched down, said Jean Loving, a spokeswoman for Spartanburg County.

In Gainesville, Ga., a tornado hit near Interstate 985, injuring at least nine people, Civil Defense Director Bill Banks said. Two victims were in critical condition.

Another twister that hit in western Kentucky destroyed one house and damaged four others.

The weather was also blamed for one death in Oklahoma and six in Texas, most of them drownings. One man whose truck was found in a Texas creek was missing.

About 255,000 customers in north-central and eastern Texas lost electricity because of the storms, and 27,500 remained without power late Friday, said Dave Fiorelli, a senior engineer for Texas Utilities Electric in Dallas.

Some Power Restored

Power lines were extensively damaged in Louisiana. Officials of Louisiana Power & Light Co. worked throughout the day to return power to some 12,000 homes throughout the state Friday. “That’s down from 50,000 last night,” said Mike Sanders of Louisiana Power.

Rainfall in Louisiana included almost 12 inches at Ruston, 10 in Calhoun, 9.3 at Monroe and 8.5 at Oak Ridge, said Ernest Ethridge of the Weather Service.

An undetermined number of homes were evacuated because of flooding in Monroe, West Monroe, Lincoln Parish and Shreveport.