The main devastating tornadoes hit the Mississippi region of the United States this Saturday, March 25. While the number currently stands at 25 dead and dozens injured, US President Joe Biden on Sunday ordered federal aid to be deployed.
At least 25 people died after devastating tornadoes swept through southern Mississippi, ripping off roofs, destroying cars and flattening entire neighborhoods as the region braced for worse weather on Sunday.
Kenterica Sardin, 23, looks at the rubble of her storm-ravaged home. GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA – WILL NEWTON
“This is a tragedy,” Tate Reeves, state governor, said on Twitter, referring to “devastating damage” in the wake of these tornadoes, which swept more than 150km west to east. “The extent of the casualties and damage is evident today in all affected areas,” he said after visiting Silver City, one of the hardest-hit cities.
According to the Mississippi State Emergency Services (MSEMA), the death toll is 25 dead and dozens injured. Four missing people “have been found,” they added. Search and rescue teams are deployed to find victims.
“Heartbreaking” images
US President Joe Biden on Sunday ordered the deployment of federal aid, which will be used for short-term housing, repairs and soft loans to cover uninsured property losses. In an earlier press release, he had provoked “heartbreaking” images and assured that the country would “do whatever it takes to help” “for as long as it takes”.
In some places the houses seem to have turned upside down. AFP-CHANDAN KHANNA
In Rolling Fork, a western Mississippi town of about 2,000, there are rows of houses ripped from their meager foundations, streets with rubble and cars on their roofs. The trees were uprooted and pieces of metal wrapped around the trunks. About 4,800 residents in Mississippi were without power, according to poweroutage.us, and nearly 11,000 homes and businesses were left without power in neighboring Alabama. Mississippi braces for still turbulent weather Sunday, including high winds and hail, with the state’s Emergency Management Agency warning that “the possibility of tornadoes cannot be ruled out.”
Drone footage shows destruction in Rolling Fork, Mississippi after a deadly and powerful storm system late Friday. At least 23 people were killed in Mississippi and one in Alabama. Emergency officials said dozens more were injured. https://t.co/7iBwPIS5E5 pic.twitter.com/zjLBMR1olE
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 25, 2023
“My city no longer exists”
“Almost everything was swept away” in the city, Patricia Perkins, a 61-year-old resident, told AFP over the phone. “Most of the shops were destroyed by the tornado,” says an employee at a tool shop. Aaron Rigsby, “tornado hunter,” said he arrived Friday night and heard “screams from people trapped in the rubble calling for help.”
People try to cut down a tree in the yard of a house in Rolling Fork. AFP-CHANDAN KHANNA
“There was a lady who couldn’t get to safety in time and was mowed down, the roof of her house fell on her,” he told AFP by phone. “I managed to extricate her from the rubble” and seek help when she injured her leg, he adds. Another lady found herself “stuck between her sofa, parts of the roof and a fridge,” he said again, speaking of “the same scenes all over town.”
Speaking on CNN, Rolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker said, “My town doesn’t exist anymore.” According to the city council, several victims were located and cleared of the rubble of their homes to be hospitalized. “Houses that have been torn away can be replaced, but you cannot replace life,” said Eldridge Walker. “The losses will forever be felt in these cities,” Gov. Tate Reeves tweeted, asking for prayers for the victims and their families.
Aerial view of a destroyed house in Rolling Fork. AFP-CHANDAN KHANNA
A death in Alabama
According to ABC, at least 13 people died in Sharkey County, three in neighboring Carroll County, and two others in Monroe County. Separately, a Silver City, Humphreys County, ABC police officer reported one dead person.
So far, 25 people have been reported dead, while dozens more have been injured. AFP-CHANDAN KHANNA
In Alabama, a state neighboring Mississippi, the thunderstorms were also particularly intense and a man died after his trailer overturned, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office said. The “priority at this stage” is “to keep living people safe and to locate people to verify they are safe,” MSEMA’s Malory White said.
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.