Dozens Killed In Deadliest Mississippi Tornado
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JACKSON/WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Search and rescue operations were underway Saturday as one of the deadliest tornados to ever hit the U.S. state of Mississippi killed dozens of people.
On Saturday, President Joe Biden called the devastation “heartbreaking” as the official death toll of Friday night’s twister rose to at least 26 with many more people still being trapped under the rubble of buildings.
Additionally, dozens of people were injured, and several were missing in the wake of a spate of tornadoes, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency confirmed.
The storm that ripped through Mississippi produced a tornado that caused catastrophic damage to communities across the state.
The rural towns of Silver City and Rolling Fork, about 96 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Jackson, Mississippi, bore the brunt of the damage from the tornado, authorities said.
“It is almost complete devastation,” added Royce Steed, the emergency manager in Humphreys County, where Silver City is located. “This little old town…is more or less wiped off the map.”
Rolling Fork mayor Eldridge Walker told media he could not leave his damaged home soon after the tornado hit because power lines were down.
He said his town of 2,000 residents had essentially been wiped out. “My city is gone. But we are resilient, and we are going to come back strong.”
Saturday morning, over 15,500 households were reported without power in Mississippi, along with 20,400 in Alabama and 53,700 in Tennessee.
President Biden said he reached out to Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves and spoken with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and local authorities about recovery efforts.
“The images from across Mississippi are heartbreaking,” he said in a statement. “While we are still assessing the full extent of the damage, we know that many of our fellow Americans are not only grieving for family and friends. They’ve lost their homes and businesses.”
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