Tornadoes | Mississippi faces heartbreaking images

(Rolling Fork) Mississippi was facing the extent of devastation on Sunday after tornadoes two days before that killed at least 25 people, according to authorities in this southern state of the United States, and while more bad weather is expected in the evening.

The tornadoes traveled across Mississippi from west to east for more than 150 km, leaving “devastating damage” in their wake, according to Governor Tate Reeves.

One was preliminarily classified as Category 4 (out of 5 on the Fujita scale), the Mississippi Emergency Services (MSEMA) said.

In Rolling Fork, a municipality of some 2,000 people hit hard by this tornado on Friday, the streets resemble a “war zone”, explains to AFP John Brown, a Red Cross official for Alabama and the Mississippi.

Entire rows of homes have been torn from their meager foundations, streets are littered with debris and roof-topped cars, and two tractor-trailers have been piled on top of each other by the devastating tornado.

Trees have also been uprooted and pieces of metal are wrapped around the trunks.

“Heartbreaking” pictures

Aid began to organize in the city on Saturday. The American Red Cross has taken over a National Guard building, where food and necessities are pouring in alongside cots.

Some have traveled dozens of kilometers to lend reinforcements.

Jon Gebhardt, assistant professor of military science at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, some three hours from Rolling Fork, said he arrived Friday night into Saturday after the tornado hit to help put the center on foot.

Faced with the “pain and anguish” of the inhabitants, “I cried a lot” on Saturday, he admits to AFP.

On Saturday evening, electricians in vans circled the city to try to restore power as quickly as possible, amid numerous police cars.

“We know that families have lost everything,” said Deanne Criswell, director of FEMA, the federal agency in charge of natural disasters, on CNN on Sunday.

President Joe Biden on Sunday ordered the deployment of federal aid, which is used for short-term housing, repairs and soft loans to cover uninsured property losses.

He had evoked “heartbreaking” images on Saturday and assured that the federal state would do “everything it can to help”, “as long as it takes”.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is scheduled to travel with Deanne Criswell and Governor Reeves to Rolling Fork on Sunday and speak on “the impact of tornadoes and severe storms” in Mississippi, his department said.

“Destructive bursts” expected

Further severe weather is expected Sunday evening in Mississippi, MSEMA said, asking residents to plan where to take shelter.

“Expect destructive bursts. Tornadoes cannot be ruled out,” the agency said.

Across the southern United States, thunderstorms were also particularly intense on Friday.

In Alabama, a neighboring state of Mississippi, a man died after his trailer overturned, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office said.

And in Georgia, a tiger went missing from a wildlife park, according to the Troup County Sheriff’s Office. Law enforcement has asked residents to stay home and report if they see the cat.

Tornadoes, a meteorological phenomenon as impressive as they are difficult to predict, are common in the United States, especially in the center and south of the country.

By December 2021, about 80 people had lost their lives after tornadoes hit Kentucky.