Mississippi faced the extent of the devastation on Sunday after tornadoes swept through the previous day that killed at least 25 people, officials in this southern United States state said, and as more severe weather is expected in the evening.
The tornadoes swept more than 150 miles west-east across Mississippi, causing “devastating damage,” according to Gov. Tate Reeves.
One has been provisionally classified as Category 4 (out of 5 on the Fujita scale), the Mississippi Emergency Medical Services (MSEMA) said.
In Rolling Fork, a community of about 2,000 that was badly hit by Friday’s tornado, the streets resemble a “war zone,” John Brown, a Red Cross official for Alabama and Mississippi, told AFP.
Rows of homes have been ripped from their meager foundations, streets are littered with debris and roofed cars, and two tractor-trailers were stacked on top of each other by the devastating tornado.
Trees were also uprooted and pieces of metal wrapped around the trunks.
“Heartbreaking” images
On Saturday, the organization of help in the city began. The American Red Cross has taken over a building belonging to the National Guard, in which, in addition to camp beds, food and essentials are pouring in.
Some have traveled tens of miles to borrow reinforcements.
Jon Gebhardt, an assistant professor of military science at the University of Mississippi at Oxford, about three hours from Rolling Fork, said he arrived Friday night into Saturday after the tornado struck to help erect the center on foot.
Faced with the “pain and fear” of the residents, I “cried a lot” on Saturday, he admits to AFP.
On Saturday night, electricians drove through the city in pick-up trucks to try to restore power as quickly as possible amid numerous police cars.
“We know that families have lost everything,” Deanne Criswell, director of Fema, the federal agency responsible for dealing with natural disasters, told CNN on Sunday.
President Joe Biden Sunday ordered the deployment of federal aid that will be used for short-term housing, repairs and soft loans to cover uninsured property losses.
He spoke of “heartbreaking” images on Saturday and assured that the country would “do everything it can to help” “as long as it takes”.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is scheduled to travel to Rolling Fork with Deanne Criswell and Gov. Reeves on Sunday to discuss “the impact of tornadoes and severe storms” in Mississippi, his department said.
“Destructive Eruptions” expected
More severe weather is expected in Mississippi Sunday night, MSEMA said, asking residents to plan where to take shelter.
“Expect destructive explosions. Tornadoes cannot be ruled out,” the agency said.
The thunderstorms on Friday were also particularly violent in the southern United States.
In Alabama, a state neighboring Mississippi, a man died after his trailer overturned, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office said.
And in Georgia, a tiger went missing from a wildlife park, according to the Troup County Sheriff’s Office. Police have asked residents to stay home and call in if they see the cat.
A meteorological phenomenon as impressive as it is difficult to predict, tornadoes are common in the United States, particularly in the central and southern parts of the country.
As of December 2021, around 80 people had lost their lives after tornadoes hit Kentucky.