ROLLING FORK, Miss. (London Post with AP) — Powerful tornadoes tore through parts of the Deep South on Friday night, killing at least 23 people in Mississippi, obliterating dozens of buildings and leaving an especially devastating mark on a rural town whose mayor declared, “My city is gone.”
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said in a Twitter post that search and rescue teams from local and state agencies were deployed to help victims impacted by the tornadoes. The agency confirmed early Saturday that 23 people had died, four were missing and dozens were injured.
A few minutes later, the agency warned the casualty toll could go higher, tweeting:
“Unfortunately, these numbers are expected to change.”
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado caused damage about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of Jackson, Mississippi. The rural towns of Silver City and Rolling Fork reported destruction as the tornado swept northeast at 70 mph (113 kph) without weakening, racing towards Alabama through towns, including Winona and Amory, into
The National Weather Service issued an alert Friday night as the storm was hitting that didn’t mince words:
“To protect your life, TAKE COVER NOW!”
“You are in a life-threatening situation,” it warned. “Flying debris can be fatal to an unprotected person. Mobile homes will be destroyed. There is a possibility that
Cornell’s Ms. Knight told The Associated Press that his wife and her 3-year-old daughter were staying at her relative’s home in Falk Rowling when the tornado struck. He said the sky was dark, but “I could see the direction of all the transformers where the wind blew.”
He said it was “eerily quiet” when it happened, and Knight said he watched from the doorway until the tornado estimated he was less than a mile away. . He then told everyone in the house to hide in the hallway. He said the tornado hit another relative’s house across a large cornfield from where he was.The house’s walls collapsed, trapping several people. In a telephone interview with the Associated Press, Knight said he could see the lights of rescue vehicles at the partially collapsed house.
The tornado appeared so strong on radar as it approached the town of Amory, about 25 miles southeast of Tupelo, that Mississippi weather forecasters paused and said a prayer after the new radar information arrived. rice field. “Oh my god,” said WTVA’s Matt Lauban live. “Jesus, please help them. Amen.”
The rolling fork’s damage was so extensive that several of Storm’s chasers, who track severe weather and live stream dramatic funnel clouds, called for search and rescue assistance. Others broke off the chase to take the wounded to the hospital themselves.
The Sharky County Sheriff’s Office in Rolling Fork reported a gas leak and people trapped in a pile of rubble, according to Vicksburg News. According to the newspaper, some law enforcement units in Sharkey were not reported.
His 40,000 customers in Tennessee were out of power, according to poweroutage.us. In Mississippi he blacked out 15,000 customers. In Alabama he blacked out 20,000 people.
Rolling Fork and the surrounding area are home to extensive cotton, corn, soybean and catfish breeding ponds. More than six shelters have been opened for him in the state by emergency authorities.
Torrential rains caused flooding in Missouri early Friday, killing two people in a car swept away by floodwaters. Another person went missing in another Missouri county that was hit by a flash flood.
