Devastating storms ripped through rural Mississippi on Friday night, leaving at least 25 people dead, dozens injured, and rescue workers scrambling to haul people from the rubble. The state has been left reeling from its highest tornado-related death toll in decades.
The small, majority Black towns of Rolling Fork and Silver City in the Mississippi delta were among the hardest hit. Rolling Fork’s mayor, Eldridge Walker, declared his city “gone,” as images of destroyed neighborhoods and crumpled cars emerged. “Families are affected, homes are torn up, families are without a place to live, children are hungry this morning, no clothes,” Walker said.
Rolling Fork has a population of approximately 2,000 people, with 20% living below the poverty line and 21% living in mobile homes, making them vulnerable to extreme weather. The town is known as the birthplace of blues music pioneer Muddy Waters.
Storms Bring Death and Destruction to Rural Mississippi.As the full extent of the damage became clear, officials reported one man died in north-central Alabama after his trailer home overturned. The total death toll stood at 26.
The National Weather Service dispatched teams to the affected areas to assess damage, seeking to determine whether a single tornado or multiple cyclones caused the destruction. The agency had warned of a high tornado risk in the region for days.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency in all counties affected by the extreme weather and sought disaster assistance from the US government. President Joe Biden expressed condolences and offered federal support.
Extensive damage was reported in other parts of the region, including Tennessee and Alabama, where about 60,000 people were without power. Communities in the affected areas vowed to rebuild and recover.