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At least 25 people have been killed in Mississippi, in the southern United States, following the passage of a tornado and thunderstorms, the governor of this state said on Saturday.
Tragedy in Mississippi. At least 23 people were killed during the passage of a tornado and thunderstorms on Friday evening, the governor of this state in the south of the United States said on Saturday March 25. “We know that many more (people) are injured. Search and rescue teams are still active,” also said Tate Reeves on Twitter.
Mississippi State Emergency Services (MSEMA) also noted on Twitter : “Unfortunately, these numbers are expected to change” upwards. “The state has deployed relief assets in Sharkey and Humphreys counties,” about 110 miles north of capital Jackson, MSEMA’s Malary White told ABC.
“We have put the medical support system into action – increasing the number of ambulances and other emergency devices to (assist) those affected,” Tate Reeves tweeted.
US President Joe Biden spoke of “heartbreaking images” in the state of Mississippi. “The images across Mississippi are heartbreaking,” he said in a statement on Saturday, stressing that the federal state would “do whatever it can to help” “for as long as it takes.” .
Television footage showed flattened houses and lots of debris strewn across roads as emergency services tried to reach people in need of help.
“My town no longer exists”
“My town no longer exists,” the mayor of Rolling Fork, a town of some 2,000 people in west-central Mississippi, which was particularly affected by the tornado, told CNN.
According to the city councilor, several victims were located and removed from the debris of their homes, to be taken to hospitals and treated. “Houses that have been torn away can be replaced, but you cannot replace a life,” he said.
Rolling Fork resident Shanta Howard told local channel WAPT, “I thought I was dead” after the tornado hit. “We had to help get dead bodies” out of houses, she said.
“The losses will be felt in these cities forever,” Governor Tate Reeves tweeted, asking to pray for the victims and their families.
According to ABC, at least 13 people died in Sharkey County, along with three in neighboring Carroll County and two others in Monroe County. Separately, a traffic cop in Silver City, Humphreys County, reported one person dead to ABC.
“We heard a noise, like it was a train, for 45 seconds to a minute; then it was over,” Woodrow Johnson, a local Humphrey County official, told CNN about the tornado.
Visibly moved, he said he lost his house. “We are strong, we will persevere, and we will recover,” added Woodrow Johnson.
“Our priority at this point, especially for the emergency services, is (to ensure) the safety of lives and to locate people to verify that they are safe,” explained Malary White, of the service of Mississippi State Emergency, on local CBS News affiliate WJTV.
Tornado warnings had been issued for several counties in that state on Friday, but as of 2:48 a.m. (7:48 GMT) on Saturday, the Jackson branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) reported that “the tornado watch was lifted across the state. ‘entire area concerned’.
“New showers and other thunderstorms are expected in our area,” he tweeted, stressing that “they should not be strong according to the forecast”.
With AFP
