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At least 23 people died from the violent storms and at least one tornado that hit the state of Mississippi in the southern United States late Friday, authorities reported Saturday. The state emergency management agency MEMA fears that the death toll will be higher.
The state’s emergency management agency, MEMA, said at least four people were missing and dozens were injured, while thousands of customers in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee were without power. “At least 23 Mississippians were killed by violent tornadoes last night. We know many more are injured. Search and rescue teams remain active,” Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said on Twitter.
Search and rescue operations are underway in Sharkey and Humphreys counties, about 110 kilometers north of Jackson, the state capital, the agency said on Twitter.
“My town is gone,” Rolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker in Sharkey County told WJTV: “What we found is devastation all around us.”
Woodrow Johnson, a Humphreys County official, said “It was pretty scary,” adding that his neighbor’s house, a trailer, was “completely gone.”
The National Weather Service warned residents Saturday that “hazards will persist even after the storms have gone.” Television images showed flattened houses and debris strewn on the roads.
The Jackson National Weather Service reported early Saturday that the tornado watch had passed. “Additional showers and thunderstorms are expected throughout the area,” he said on Twitter, adding that they are not expected to be severe.
with AFP
