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The president of the United States, Joe Biden, approved this Sunday, March 26, an emergency declaration for Mississippi, after a powerful storm hit the state. The weather phenomenon claimed the lives of at least 26 people, including one in Alabama.
US President Joe Biden’s emergency declaration for Mississippi allows for the delivery of federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in areas hit by the tornado, the White House said in a statement.
Specifically, the funds will be available to affected individuals in Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey counties in Mississippi.
The announcement was made this Sunday, March 26, after a powerful storm hit that state, where at least 25 people died, plus one in Alabama.
Drone footage shows the destruction in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, after a deadly and powerful storm system hit late Friday. At least 23 people were killed in Mississippi, and one was killed 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
Joe Biden, described the images of what happened as “heartbreaking” and offered his condolences and all the federal support for the recovery.
“To those affected by these devastating storms, and to first responders and emergency personnel working to help their fellow citizens, we will do everything we can to help (…) We will be there as long as it takes. We will work together to provide him with the support he needs to recover,” the head of state remarked.
“We could hear cries for help”
In Rolling Fork, a city of about 1,900 inhabitants in western Mississippi and the hardest hit by the weather phenomenon, homes were reduced to rubble, tree trunks fell and dozens of cars were overturned. The city’s water tower lay on the ground.
“As soon as we went from one vehicle to another or from one building to another, we could hear screams and cries for help (…) We were basically in small groups, digging through the rubble, trying to find and get people out,” said Michael Searcy, a storm chaser who saw the tornado approach the town.
The tornado remained on the ground for about an hour and carved a path of destruction for about 170 miles, according to Nicholas Price, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi.
State Governor Tate Reeves, who visited the town of Silver City on Saturday, March 25, declared a state of emergency for the affected areas.
“The scale of the damage and loss is evident in all affected places (…) Homes, businesses, entire communities,” the official said.
Meanwhile, in Alabama, hit by the same storm system, authorities reported the death of a man. The victim had been rescued from his vehicle that overturned in the mud, but died hours later from his injuries.
About 26,000 customers were without power as of Saturday night in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, authorities said.
Parts of Mississippi and Alabama could face damaging winds, hail and possible tornadoes again this Sunday, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center warned.
With Reuters and EFE
