Tornadoes unleashed by thunderstorms along the U.S. Gulf Coast ripped through southeastern Mississippi on Tuesday (December 23, 2014), killing at least four people, injuring numerous others and causing extensive damage to homes and businesses, authorities said.

One of the heaviest-hit areas was a commercial district along the U.S. Highway 98 bypass in the town of Columbia in Marion County, about 30 miles (48 km) west of Hattiesburg, officials said.

One woman was killed in a shopping strip there, and another in a nearby trailer home, according to the county coroner.

Two more storm-related fatalities were confirmed in Jones County to the northeast, and both victims there were believed to have died in their homes, the county emergency management spokeswoman said.