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WASHINGTON, March 25 (BNA): Powerful tornadoes ripped through parts of the Deep South Friday night, killing at least 23 people in Mississippi, obliterating dozens of buildings and leaving an especially devastating footprint on a rural town whose mayor declared: “The town is gone.”
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said in a tweet that search and rescue teams from state and local agencies were deployed to assist victims affected by the tornadoes. Early Saturday morning, the agency confirmed that 23 people had been killed, four missing, and dozens injured, the Associated Press reported.
A few minutes later, the agency warned that the number of casualties could rise, and tweeted: “Unfortunately, these numbers are expected to change.”
The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado caused damage 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of Jackson, Mississippi. Rural towns of Silver City and Rolling Fork reported devastation as the tornado swept northeast at 70 mph (113 km/h) without weakening, racing toward Alabama through towns, including Winona and Amory, into the night.
Rolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker told CNN his town was basically wiped out. Video filmed as daylight approached showed homes reduced to piles of rubble, cars flipped on their sides and trees stripped of their branches. Occasionally, in the midst of the wreckage, a house would survive, apparently undamaged.
“My city is gone. But we are steadfast and we will come back strong.”
The National Weather Service issued an alert Friday night as the storm was hitting and the words didn’t disappoint: “To protect your life, take cover now!”
“You are in a life-threatening situation,” she warned. “Flying debris could be fatal to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be destroyed. Extensive damage to homes, businesses and vehicles is likely and complete destruction is likely.”
Cornell Knight told the Associated Press that he, his wife, and their 3-year-old daughter were at a relative’s home in Rolling Fork when the tornado hit. The sky was dark, he said, but “you could see the direction from every transformer exploding.”
He said it was “eerily quiet” as it went. Knight said he watched from the entrance until the tornado was, he estimated, less than a mile away. Then he told everyone in the house to take cover in the hallway. He said the tornado struck another nearby home across a wide corn field from where he was. A wall collapsed in that house, trapping several people inside. When Knight spoke to the Associated Press on the phone, he said he could see emergency vehicle lights in the partially collapsed house.
The hurricane appeared so strong on radar as it approached the town of Amore, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Tupelo, that a Mississippi meteorologist paused to say a prayer after receiving new radar information.
“Oh man,” WTVA’s Matt Luban said on the live broadcast. “Dear Jesus, please help them. Amen.”
The damage to the Rolling Fork was so widespread that many storm chasers—who track severe weather and often post live broadcasts showing dramatic funnel clouds—called for search-and-rescue assistance. Others gave up the chase to take the injured to hospitals themselves.
WAPT reported that Sharkey-Issaquena Community Hospital on the west side of Rolling Fork was damaged.
The Sharkey County Sheriff’s Office in Rolling Fork reported a gas leak and people trapped in piles of rubble, according to the Vicksburg News. The newspaper stated that some law enforcement units had not known their fate in Sharqi.
According to poweroutage.us, 40,000 customers were without power in Tennessee; 15,000 customers left without power in Mississippi; And 20,000 were without power in Alabama.
Rolling Fork and the surrounding area include vast swaths of cotton, corn, and soybean fields and catfish farming ponds. More than half a dozen shelters have been opened in the state by emergency officials.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a tweet Friday night that search and rescue teams are active and officials are sending more ambulances and emergency assets.
“Many in MS Delta need your prayers and God’s protection tonight,” the post said. “Watch the weather reports and be careful all night, Mississippi!”
This was a superstorm, said Walker Ashley, a professor of meteorology at Northern Illinois University, the nasty kind of storm brewing the deadliest and most damaging hurricane in the United States. What’s more, this was a one night stand and it’s “the worst kind,” he said.
Ashley, who has been discussing the matter with colleagues since March 17, said meteorologists had seen a significant tornado threat coming into the general area, rather than the specific area, a week before that. He said a far-reaching alert for the region is on March 19.
Tornado experts like Ashley have warned of increased exposure to hazards in the area due to people building more.
“You’re particularly mixed up socially and economicallyAshley said in an email:
Earlier on Friday, heavy rains in Missouri caused flooding that has been blamed for the deaths of two people who were in a car that was swept away by high water. Another person was missing in another Missouri county that was hit by flash floods.
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