"The 1953 Vicksburg Tornado"

On a balmy Saturday afternoon in the winter of 1953, a tornado carved a path of destruction from Vicksburg's waterfront through downtown and into a northeast residential area. The December 5th twister was, as of 2006, one of only two F5 tornadoes in Mississippi history and the third deadliest in the state. It claimed thirty-eight lives, including five children who were watching a movie in the Saenger Theater on Walnut Street and two children at the Happyland Nursery. Within an hour, relief agencies were mobilized, help arrived from surrounding cities, and survivors and the dead were being uncovered from the debris. Scores of buildings were destroyed or damaged beyond repair by the high winds and subsequent fires, including historically important buildings such as St. Paul Catholic Church, which had stood on Vicksburg's high bluffs since 1849. The Vicksburg Sunday Post Herald received the Pulitzer Prize for its courage under deadline pressure after the Sunday newspaper was printed and delivered by its carriers the morning following the tornado.

Vicksburg, Mississippi · United States