Editing Columbus, Mississippi (section)

===Recent history===
On June 12, 1990, a fireworks factory in Columbus exploded, detonating a blast felt as far as 30 miles away from Columbus. Two workers were killed in the blast.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-06-13-mn-207-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | title=Two Killed as Explosions Destroy Fireworks Factory | date=June 13, 1990 | access-date=2013-04-16 | archive-date=2013-11-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110221633/http://articles.latimes.com/1990-06-13/news/mn-207_1_fireworks-factory | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/b6bf032a0255a80153130be35b43e3be |title=Explosions At Mississippi Fireworks Plant Kill Two |publisher=Apnewsarchive.com |date=1990-06-12 |access-date=2014-07-14 |archive-date=2014-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702031601/http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1990/Explosions-At-Mississippi-Fireworks-Plant-Kill-Two/id-b6bf032a0255a80153130be35b43e3be |url-status=live }}</ref>

On February 16, 2001, straightline winds measured at 74 miles per hour destroyed many homes and trees but resulted in no fatalities. The city was declared a federal disaster area the next day by President [[George W. Bush]]. On [[2002 Veterans Day weekend tornado outbreak|November 10, 2002]], a tornado hit Columbus and caused more damage to the city,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tornadoproject.com/past/pastts02.htm |title=Tornadoes in the Past: 2002 |website=tornadoproject.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109205737/http://www.tornadoproject.com/past/pastts02.htm|archive-date=November 9, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/assessments/pdfs/veteran.pdf |title=Veterans Day Weekend Tornado Outbreak of November 9-11, 2002 |publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce |access-date=2013-04-16 |archive-date=2013-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228003959/http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/assessments/pdfs/veteran.pdf }}</ref> including the Mississippi University for Women.<ref>{{cite web |last=Amy |first=Jeff |url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/14/16963369-tornado-damage-to-university-of-southern-mississippi-estimated-in-tens-of-millions?lite |title=Tornado damage to University of Southern Mississippi estimated in tens of millions |publisher=NBC News |date=2013-02-14 |access-date=2014-07-14 |archive-date=2014-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630215949/http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/14/16963369-tornado-damage-to-university-of-southern-mississippi-estimated-in-tens-of-millions?lite }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.muw.edu/publicaffairs/2006_prnews/061003_miller.html |title=Miller to present at conference on disaster relief |publisher=Mississippi University for Women |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110220116/http://www.muw.edu/publicaffairs/2006_prnews/061003_miller.html|archive-date=November 10, 2013}}</ref>

In 2010, Columbus won a Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.columbusmainstreet.com | title=Welcome to the Columbus Main Street Website | work=Columbus Main Street | access-date=December 29, 2010 | archive-date=February 7, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207130542/http://www.columbusmainstreet.com/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

In February 2019, Columbus took a direct hit from [[2019 Columbus, Mississippi, tornado|an EF-3 tornado]] that caused devastating damage to homes and businesses and killed one woman after a structure fell on her.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wcbi.com/tornado-victim-remembered-loving-mother-daughter-caring-person/ |title=Tornado Victim Remembered As Loving Mother, Daughter And Caring Person | work=WCBI News |date=February 25, 2019 | access-date=January 26, 2022 }}</ref>