Tornadoes rip through Mississippi Coast cities, damaging homes and popular Mexican restaurant

Two tornadoes touched down in Mississippi Coast cities Sunday morning as a system of strong thunderstorms moved over the Deep South. 

The twisters were confirmed by 10:45 a.m. and caused minor damage in Pascagoula and Gautier, Jackson County Emergency Manager Earl Etheridge told the Sun Herald. The cities are east of Biloxi, both less than an hour from Mobile, Alabama. 

No injuries were reported, but at least one home in Pascagoula was damaged and a popular Mexican restaurant in Gautier felt a tornado’s wrath while workers were inside preparing for the Sunday lunch crowd.

Video from resident John Adams, submitted to WLOX-TV, shows the storm touching down at Aztecas on Highway 90 near Gautier-Vancleave Road. Cars stopped on the busy thoroughfare as the twister spun up debris. Many turned around and began driving away from storm, the video shows.

The tornado tore apart some of the concrete patio at Aztecas and pushed cinder blocks from the large building onto cars in the parking lot. Nobody was injured and the workers inside are all safe, the restaurant confirmed. 

Aerial footage shows the restaurant’s roof was damaged, and shingles were ripped from their places on awnings. 

Rubble and dirt piled up in the outdoor dining areas, with many tables and chairs scattered and pushed over in the wreckage, video from WLOX-TV shows. An apartment complex in Gautier also suffered damage from one of the tornadoes.

The major storms were over by noon, and all weather warnings had expired. The National Weather Service in New Orleans warned that some strong storms and possible watersports east of the Mississippi River were possible through 1:30 p.m. 

In New Orleans, the system brought strong thunderstorms earlier Sunday morning. There was a brief power outage in the Mid-City area, but Entergy has not said if it was related to weather.