Peebles manager Essie Hendrix stands amid construction just a few feet away from where she survived the tornado by seeking cover under a desk.By JASON PATTERSON
Managing Editor

April 24 was like any normal Saturday at Peebles.
About 15 customers were browsing the sale items in the store, but every once in a while they’d stop to listen to the weather radio store manager Essie Hendrix had placed on the counter.
Hendrix didn’t think there was any real danger, but with all the severe weather reports she figured it was better safe than sorry.
Around noon the weather alerts for Yazoo County started pouring in. The announcer warned Yazoo City residents to take cover – and then the power went out.
“I told everybody to run to the back, but some of them were moving in slow motion,” Hendrix said. “I don’t know if they were in shock or if they didn’t understand how serious it was.”
With all of the customers in the back of the building, Hendrix made her way to the front to make sure no one was left behind.
That’s when the tornado hit.
“It sounded like a thousand freight trains were coming over the hill,” Hendrix said. “It looked like a giant cloud of black smoke coming from Yazoo Motors.”