NATCHEZ &045; Wind gusts of 29 miles per hour and saturated ground were enough to topple trees and leave several Natchez residents looking for a place to stay Sunday afternoon.

Lori Mullins was folding clothes in the dining room of her Northampton Road home at around 2 p.m. when a large oak in her front yard crashed through the house.

&uot;I really don’t know what happened,&uot; Mullins said. &uot;I heard it cracking through and I ran. It fell right where I had been standing.&uot;

Mullins’ husband Gary was in the back of the house playing with his daughter and no one was injured.

The tree broke through the ceiling in the dining room and crushed the garage and the two cars parked there.

Mullins said the impact was enough to knock a picture off the wall in the kitchen, but no other rooms were harmed.

Bryce Gaspard of Farm Bureau Insurance, the Mullins’ company, was on the scene afterward to take pictures and start the process of making a claim. Gaspard said he has seen quite a few homes damaged from similar incidents.

On Sunset Boulevard Tony Byrd and his children were in Byrd’s mother Pearlie Williams’ home preparing for lunch when a tree crushed the ceiling and came through several walls.

&uot;It sounded like a big bomb exploded,&uot; Byrd said.

Derrick Byrd, 14, was hit in the head by a birdcage that fell with the tree’s impact, but no one was seriously injured.

&uot;It scared me half to death,&uot; Derrick Byrd said. &uot;When the glass burst, I thought it was a tornado.&uot;

The tree destroyed most of the house, leaving ceiling tiles on the floor and causing extensive water damage. All but two back rooms had tree limbs in them.

Williams, the homeowner, was at church when the tree fell, around 1:30 p.m.

&uot;I just thank God I wasn’t hit and no one was hurt,&uot; Williams said. &uot;I’m not worried about anything else.&uot;

Tony Byrd said the rain continued for about an hour after the tree fell covering most of the floor with water.

The Natchez Fire Department did come to help cover the top of the house to prevent further damage.

The National Weather Service reported northwest winds of 18 miles an hour with gusts up to 29 miles an hour at 1:35 in Natchez.

Winds earlier in the day and later in the day were below 10 miles per hour. Precipitation in one hour’s time just after lunch was .08 of an inch.

Scattered thunderstorms with a 40 percent chance of rain are expected today and throughout the week.

Adams County has seen abnormal rainfall throughout 2004 with four inches on Feb. 5 and heavy rains throughout March.