Mississippi is torn apart by a tornado, leaving more than twenty dead.

Reuters || Shining BD

Published: 3/28/2023 4:40:20 AM
A man rides an ATV down an empty street after thunderstorms spawning high straight-line winds and tornadoes ripped across the state in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, U.S., March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Cheney Orr

A man rides an ATV down an empty street after thunderstorms spawning high straight-line winds and tornadoes ripped across the state in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, U.S., March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Cheney Orr

After a strong storm tore through Mississippi late on Friday, killing at least 25 people there and one person in Alabama, destroying hundreds of buildings, and producing at least one devastating tornado, rescuers combed through the wreckage on Saturday.

 

According to Nicholas Price, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi, the tornado remained on the ground for about an hour and left a path of devastation that was about 170 miles (274 km) long.
President Joe Biden ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the affected areas, a White House statement said. The funding will be available to affected people in Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, and Sharkey counties.

Tornadoes hit communities across central Mississippi

In Rolling Fork, a town of around 1,900 in western Mississippi that was hit the hardest, homes were reduced to rubble, tree trunks snapped like twigs and cars were tossed aside like toys. The town's water tower lay twisted on the ground.

Storm chaser Michael Searcy spent hours assisting in the evacuation of those who were trapped after he saw the tornado move toward Rolling Fork.

"We could hear screams and cries for help as soon as we would go from one vehicle to the next vehicle or from building to building," he told Reuters. And we were essentially working in small groups to find and rescue people by searching through the debris.

One family managed to escape by taking cover in a bathroom as the rest of the house collapsed around them and a van was dropped on top of the house by strong winds, according to Searcy.

Tornadoes hit communities across central Mississippi

Residents of Silver City, a small rural community of about 300 people, described hiding inside rooms and hiding in bathtubs as the tornado passed through.

Katherine Ray stated, "I considered God. I simply said, "Just take care of me," after saying, "I followed the Ten Commandments, Lord, it's just me at the house."
Her prayer was answered, she said; her trailer was damaged but still standing, while many of her neighbors saw their trailers completely destroyed.

Governor Tate Reeves, who visited Silver City on Saturday, declared a state of emergency in the affected areas.

Tornado aftermath in Rolling Fork, Mississippi

"The scale of the damage and loss is evident everywhere affected today," he wrote on Twitter. "Homes, businesses ... entire communities."

In Alabama, which was also struck by the same storm system, rescuers pulled a man from the mud when his trailer was overturned, but the man later died from his injuries, according to the Morgan County Sheriff's Office. That appeared to be the only reported death in that state as of Saturday evening.

U.S. President Joe Biden described the images from Mississippi as "heartbreaking" and said in a statement that he had spoken with Reeves and offered his condolences and full federal support for the recovery.

Tornadoes hit communities across central Mississippi

"To those impacted by these devastating storms, and to the first responders and emergency personnel working to help their fellow Americans, we will do everything we can to help," Biden said. "We will be there as long as it takes. We will work together to deliver the support you need to recover."

Mississippi officials set up three emergency shelters, including at the National Guard Armory in Rolling Fork. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Deanne Criswell will travel to Mississippi on Sunday, the White House said.

Parts of Mississippi and Alabama could face damaging winds, hail and possible tornados again on Sunday, the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center said.

About 26,000 customers remained without power as of Saturday evening in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee due to the storm, according to the website PowerOutage.us.

'MY CITY IS GONE'

Mississippi's emergency management agency said on Saturday afternoon that the death toll had risen to 25, with dozens more injured. Four people who had been reported missing earlier have been located, the agency said.

Tornadoes hit communities across central Mississippi

At least 12 of those deaths occurred in Rolling Fork, its mayor, Eldridge Walker, told CNN earlier in the day. The city is 75% Black, and about one-fifth of the population lives below the federal poverty line, according to U.S. Census data.

"My city is gone, but we are resilient," Walker said on CNN. "We are going to come back strong."

Jarrett Brown, a volunteer with the disaster response organization Team Rubicon who traveled to Rolling Fork, told Reuters the damage showed that the storm was inescapable for some residents.

"In some of these areas, there was no safe spot to go to," he said via a video call.

Tim and Tracy Harden, owners of Chuck's Dairy Barn in Rolling Fork, said in a Facebook post that they hid inside a small walk-in cooler one minute before the tornado demolished their building.

Tornadoes hit communities across central Mississippi

"Forever grateful to the customer with the broken arm that kept going and freed us all from the cooler," they wrote.

The National Weather Service in Jackson has deployed teams to assess the damage and determine whether additional tornados touched down, according to Price, the meteorologist.

At least 24 reports of tornadoes, stretching from western Mississippi into Alabama, were issued to the National Weather Service on Friday night and into Saturday morning by storm chasers and observers.

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