A tornado, Sunday, injured more than a dozen people and caused extensive damage at the University of Southern Mississippi campus and its surrounding areas in Hattiesburg and other parts of the county.
At the university, trees were snapped in half, roofs and windows of buildings were blown out.
The University of Southern Mississippi management told Los Angeles Times that a state of emergency had been declared and confirmed the damage to at least four campus buildings.
The buildings damaged in the tornado are Jazz Station, Mannoni Performing Arts Center, Ogletree Alumni House and Elam Arms.
The University asked students not to return to campus until further notice.
Jordan Holliman, a junior at international business program told the newspaper that on Sunday afternoon he was warned about a tornado.
He thought it was a drill.Later, the police reached the campus and had an informal discussion with the dorm students.
"They said, 'Just hang out, you're not allowed to leave,'" Holliman said. "We're on a kind of lockdown, I guess."
Joby Bass, a university professor told Chicago Tribune that a tree collapsed over his rooftop and his porch was ripped off by the tornado.
Bass said that the campus was largely empty because students had an extended weekend to celebrate Mardi Gras.
The twister also damaged a high school stadium complex and blew a truck onto the school's baseball diamond.
"There are power lines down, some gas lines down. We are encouraging people to stay at home, don't leave home unless you have to," Kyle Hopkins, a member of Forrest County's Emergency Management team told NBC news.
Hopkins said that no dorms were damaged or injuries reported at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Forrest County Sheriff Billy McGee told WNSTV that 10 or 15 people were injured by the tornado in the county but none of the injuries were serious.
