By Cheryl Lasseter - bio|email|twitter
BYRAM, MS (WLBT) - The damage in Byram is concentrated along the I-55 corridor.
On the ground, a crew is on the scene New Year's morning at First Pentecostal Church, making repairs to the building that's compromised but not toppled.
It's the same with a metal building holding a used car business and an auto repair shop off West Frontage Road. Steel is ripped and bent, and the windows are blown out of the used car inventory.
Auto shop owner Harvey Hampton says it's too early to say whether any of the vehicles can be salvaged. "I'm pretty sure they're gonna total some of them," he says.
William Grace owns the building. "The framework is racked. It's pretty extensive damage," he says. "We're gonna wait for our insurance company to come out and look at it (before we fix anything)."
Farther north on Frontage Road, 30 metal structures are lost at Ray's Storage Buildings. The owner says he'll have to swallow the costs.
Bricks are blown out of the building housing Barry's Sheet metal, but that's just part of the damage. "We got glass, water damage inside. All ten skylights are busted out. Water damage on some high dollar equipment in the back," says Tony Wallace, who's helping to shore up the property to avoid looters.
But across Byram, no serious injuries. "That's the most important thing. No one hurt. Everything else is repairable, replaceable," Wallace says.
Ground zero in Byram is the shopping center at Terry and Siwell Roads. Assistance groups such as the American Red Cross were stationed there Saturday, and County workers are meeting there. They haven't rested since the storm hit Friday evening. "Getting trees out of the road, making sure everything is passable," says Hinds County Supervisor George Smith.
We're told Hinds EOC Director Jimmie Lewis is out of town.
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