Rogelio V. Solis
In the United States, severe weather has wreaked havoc and cost many lives.
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A violent storm in the southern United States causes devastation and many deaths. Heavy thunderstorms, heavy rain and storms in the night from Sunday to Monday hit several states in the south of America. With the tornadoes of the weekend, more than 30 people have already fallen victim to the storm.
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In Mississippi alone, eleven people lost their lives, as the local disaster management announced on Monday (local time). Local media and officials also reported that at least nine people died in South Carolina, another eight in Georgia, two in Tennessee, and one person each in the states of North Carolina and Arkansas.
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US President Donald Trump expressed his condolences to the people of the affected states. The tornadoes had “terrible destructive power,” Trump said in the White House on Monday evening (local time) and promised that the US government would do everything possible to get the states back on their feet.
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Emotional images after storm depth
The day after the storms, residents had an overview of what was left of their belongings. Dramatic images emerged: In Georgia, a father hugged his son amidst the rubble of the family home. The force of the storms had not only destroyed entire houses, but also uprooted trees that crashed on streets, houses and power lines.
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According to media reports, more than a million people were without electricity. In Mississippi alone, provisional numbers for civil protection failed for more than 72,000 people. Given the number of deaths, the agency’s director, Greg Michel, spoke on Monday of a “destructive storm”. “We haven’t seen storm damage like this in a while,” said Michel.
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“These tornadoes have their own heads,” said Louisiana Governor Bel Edwards. In some places, some houses would be completely destroyed – and others next door would not be damaged. One could be grateful that nobody in the state died, said Bel Edwards.
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«Exceptionally rare event»
The storm had hit the southern United States on Easter Sunday – in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. The national weather authority NOAA had warned of possible wind speeds of up to 330 kilometers per hour. It is an “exceptionally rare event”. Governor Tate Reeves spoke of “horrific events”.
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Several US states declared a state of emergency in the face of the storm. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the authorities in Mississippi appealed to the population to wear breathing masks in all shelters and to keep the distance rules there. The United States is the world’s worst-hit coronavirus pandemic in terms of absolute numbers, with nearly 600,000 confirmed infections and more than 23,000 deaths. (SDA)
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