After a violent tornado tore through rural Mississippi on Friday night, flattening homes and dispatching rescue teams to free residents trapped within the devastation, at least 23 people were killed and dozens more were injured.
In addition to the 23 fatalities, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said that numerous more were hurt and that at least four others were still missing.
The organization stated in a Twitter update that “we have multiple local and state search and rescue teams continuing to operate this morning.” The organization continued, “Unfortunately, these numbers are anticipated to alter.
Rescuers were just starting to evaluate the damage as morning broke. More than 100,000 power users in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee were without power, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us, with some of the hardest-hit counties experiencing near-total blackouts.
Our search and recovery efforts continue. Mark Stiles, the Carroll County coroner in Mississippi, stated that three people were discovered dead, all coming from the same home. “We’re attempting to cut down trees to access where people live,” he added. The community of Rolling Fork in Sharkey County, Mississippi, appeared to be the location of the destruction’s center, which was some 60 miles away. According to Fred Miller, a former city mayor, the tornado knocked out windows, damaged houses and trees, and uprooted some trees.
In an interview with Fox Weather, Mr. Miller claimed that “much of the city was destroyed,” including every establishment on a stretch of local street that was used for commerce and shopping. They are currently attempting to free the captive patrons of a few of the restaurants.
Aaron Rigsby, a videographer and storm chaser who filmed the tornadoHe said in an interview he watched it evolve from a “small cone” to a “massive wedge.”
After the tornado hit Rolling Fork, Mr Rigsby said he went door-to-door through the city rescuing people trapped in their vehicles or in destroyed homes, including a woman who had been buried under rubble.
“The town was hit directly,” he said, adding that it took ambulances at least 30 minutes to get to Rolling Fork because the area is so rural.
Rolling Fork is a Mississippi Delta city of about 2,000 people in Sharkey County. It was the birthplace of blues singer Muddy Waters and lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. Residents live with the risk of flooding should the back dams along the Yazoo fail.
