[NTD Times Beijing time, March 25, 2023]Local officials said Saturday (March 25) morning that strong storms and at least one tornado hit the US state of Mississippi on Friday night, killing at least 24 people and dozens more. Injured, roofs toppled, some neighborhoods nearly leveled, and thousands without power.
In a series of tweets, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said four people were missing as search teams searched for survivors in the rubble after the storm battered West Mississippi’s Silver City.
“Unfortunately, these numbers are expected to change,” the agency said, referring to the number of deaths that will change.
“The town no longer exists”
A tornado also hit Rolling Fork, and residents said the town was devastated, CNN reported.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Brandy Showah told CNN. “It was a really great town that doesn’t exist anymore.”
About 60 miles northwest of Jackson, in hardest-hit Sharkey County, home to the town of Rolling Fork, at least 13 people died, according to county coroner Angelia Easton. people die.
Three other people were killed and at least two were in critical condition in Humphreys County, emergency management director Royce Steed told CNN Saturday morning.
In Carroll County, three people died in a house in what appeared to be a tornado, coroner Mark Stiles told CNN. In addition, two people died in Monroe County in northeastern Mississippi, coroner Alan Gurley said.
In the devastated town of Rolling Fork, the tornado damaged homes and buildings, destroyed trees and knocked out power lines, Showa told CNN. The National Weather Service said the tornado was moving at 50 mph over the town just after 8 p.m. Central Time Friday.
Xiaowa said that the roof of the grandmother’s house was damaged and the air conditioner was also demolished, but the grandmother was safe. Most of the trees in my grandmother’s yard were blown down, including a tree my grandfather planted 50 years ago. All power in the area where her grandmother’s home was located was cut, she said.
The severe storm also knocked out power in other parts of Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi.
Fallen trees and wind-blown debris blocked roads. Live video showed that houses and buildings in the storm-hit area were almost flattened, and household appliances, furniture and clothes were scattered everywhere.
The same “huge and destructive” tornado was also hit near the community of Coila, according to the National Weather Service. The agency issued tornado emergencies, the most dangerous type of tornado warning, in Rolling Fork, Silver City and nearby Anguilla.
At least 11 tornadoes were reported in Mississippi and Alabama in the past 24 hours, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
Parts of 3 states without power
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves tweeted late Friday that the state had activated medical support in response to conditions in Mississippi, including emergency medical support for people hit by the deadly storm. Multiple ambulances and other emergency resources.
“Search and rescue efforts are ongoing,” Reeves wrote.
The storm knocked out power to more than 100,000 homes and businesses in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee as of 5:45 a.m. ET Saturday, with more than 70,000 in Tennessee alone, according to tracking site PowerOutage.us Report.
In Morgan County, Alabama, the sheriff’s office tweeted that storm debris stretched about a mile.
(Reposted from The Epoch Times/Editor in charge: Liu Mingxiang)
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