The devastated Mississippi continued to face the aftermath of the tornadoes that tore through the southern United States on Sunday night, killing at least 25 people as a new storm was feared.
Free teams assessed the damage from destroyed houses, torn roofs and crushed vehicles in Rolling Fork, a small town that almost disappeared.
In this town of about 2,000 inhabitants, the streets are a “war zone”, John Brown, head of the Red Cross for the states of Alabama and Mississippi, told AFP.
Meanwhile, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) warned the residents of those two states of possible new “supercell electric storms” on Sunday night, which “could produce strong tornadoes and large hail”.
The number of dead on Sunday “still remains at 25 with dozens of injuries”, said the latest report from the Mississippi Emergency Service (MSEMA), which warned that the figure will soon “change”.
Winds of more than 100 mph tore through this eastern US state, with “devastating damage” in its wake, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said.
One of the hurricanes is preliminarily classified as a category 4 (5 on the Fujita scale), MSEMA said.
Entire rows of houses have been uprooted from their foundations, the streets are littered with cement, and several cars appear on the roofs of the houses, as well as trees, and tied to metal trunks.
– Pain and anguish –
On Saturday, aid began to be organized in this city. The American Red Cross has built a shop in the National Guard, where food, medicine and shelters arrive.
Some traveled ten kilometers to help the victims.
Jon Gebhardt, a professor of military science at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, said he arrived in town late Friday, about a three-hour drive from Rolling Fork, to help mediate relief efforts.
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Due to the “pain and anguish” of the residents, “I cried a lot,” he told AFP.
On Saturday night, electricians drove in vans across the city to try to restore power as quickly as possible.
“We are going to do everything possible to provide housing solutions and other means to get people back to the city as soon as possible,” the officials said at a press conference in Rolling Fork.
The officer was accompanied by the Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, who said he had seen the “massive” incident.
He also mentioned climate change.
– ‘Lost in the storm’ –
“We are seeing extreme weather events and increasing frequency and severity,” he noted. “We must build our communities in such a way that we are more prepared and able to respond quickly and restore” normality as soon as possible, he added.
President Joe Biden on Sunday ordered the deployment of federal aid, which used to support temporary housing, repair others and provide soft loans to cover losses from uninsured property.
Biden called the images “breaking” on Saturday and stated that the federal government will do “everything possible to help” those affected “for as long as necessary.”
MSEMA confirmed that new severe weather conditions are expected. “There are established risks of severe storms” in some areas of Mississippi. “Destructive storms and tornadoes are possible.”
In the southern United States, thunderstorms were also very intense on Friday.
An Alabama man has died after jumping six, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office said.
Tornadoes, a meteorological phenomenon both severe and difficult to predict, are common in the United States, especially in the Midwest and South.
As of December 2021, around 80 people had lost their lives after such events hit the state of Kentucky.
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