World

Mississippi tornado and storms kill at least 23

March 26, 2023 10:40 am

An aerial view of the aftermath of a tornado, in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, U.S. [Source: Reuters]

Rescuers combed through rubble after a powerful storm tore across Mississippi overnight, killing at least 25 people there and another in Alabama, leveling dozens of buildings and spawning at least one devastating tornado.

The tornado stayed on the ground for about an hour and cut a path of destruction some 170 miles (274 km) long, according to preliminary information, said Nicholas Price, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi.

Video taken in the town of Rolling Fork, a town of 1,700 in western Mississippi that was hit hardest, showed homes reduced to rubble, tree trunks snapped like twigs and cars that had been tossed aside. The town’s water tower lay twisted on the ground.

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Governor Tate Reeves, who visited the tornado-struck town of Silver City, declared a state of emergency in the affected areas.

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 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 afternoon.

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.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Deanne Criswell will travel to Mississippi on Sunday, the White House said. Criswell told CNN that FEMA already had staff on the ground and that the American Red Cross was helping to set up shelters for people whose homes were destroyed.

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.

At least 12 of those deaths occurred in Rolling Fork, its mayor, Eldridge Walker, told CNN earlier in the day.

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

Jeremy McCoy, a constable in neighboring Yazoo County who had gone to Rolling Fork to assist with rescue efforts, told CNN of the grim situation on the ground and stepping on nails in the rubble.

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.

The National Weather Service has deployed teams to assess the damage and determine how many 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.