State of Emergency declared after terrifying tornado rips through western Mississippi, leaving 23 dead

After a terrifying tornado ripped through rural parts of western Mississippi, the state’s governor has declared a State of Emergency.

A spectacular tornado left at least 23 people dead and dozens injured after ripping through rural areas of western Mississippi late on Friday night, March 24. Another fatality was reported in Alabama, where a 67-year-old man died.

“At least twenty three Mississippians were killed by last night’s violent tornados. We know that many more are injured. Search and rescue teams are still active. The loss will be felt in these towns forever. Please pray for God’s hand to be over all who lost family and friends”, tweeted Tate Reeves, the state’s governor.

At least twenty three Mississippians were killed by last night’s violent tornados. We know that many more are injured. Search and rescue teams are still active.

The loss will be felt in these towns forever. Please pray for God’s hand to be over all who lost family and friends.

— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) March 25, 2023

Silver City and Rolling Fork, rural towns located some 60 miles northeast of Jackson, Mississippi, appeared to bear the brunt of the damage as the storm hit at around 8pm.

Search and rescue operation teams are still working in Sharkey and Humphreys counties in the west of the state. Tate Reeves, the state’s governor, noted on Twitter that the loss following this meteorological event: “will be felt in these towns forever. Pray for God’s hand to be on all who lost family and friends”.

Reeves posted a few hours ago on Twitter: “I have declared a State of Emergency in the Mississippi counties impacted by last night’s severe storms including tornadoes. We will marshal every available resource on behalf of our neighbours in need. We’re here for the long haul”.

I have declared a State of Emergency in the Mississippi counties impacted by last night’s severe storms including tornadoes.

We will marshal every available resource on behalf of our neighbors in need. We’re here for the long haul. pic.twitter.com/yPENOSfZwr

— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) March 25, 2023

President Biden assured that full support would be offered to Mississippi. “I just spoke with President Biden about the deadly tornados we faced overnight. He assured us FEMA would be there to support our response. The flood of support from governors, businesses, charities, and federal admin has been tremendous—matches the community here on the ground”, tweeted Reeves.

According to Power Outage, around 100,000 homes in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee were still without power earlier today, as reported by larazon.es.

A weather warning for the weekend from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Centre predicted that ‘severe thunderstorms’ were possible this Sunday 26. Specifically, it said this could be from far eastern Texas and central Louisiana to southern and central Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.

Speaking with dailymail.co.uk, about the devastation in Rolling Fork, John Fairman, the CEO of Delta Health, said: ‘The landscape looks levelled, it looks like it’s been hit by a bomb. Everything is gone, homes and businesses, I’m outside the clinic now and it’s split in half’. His son Tony added: ‘It looks like all these homes were destroyed and we’re under attack. It looks like a war zone’.

First Light of Rolling Fork Mississippi after a Violent #Tornado last night. #Amory | #Mississippi #mswx #Tornado #tornadoemergency #wxtwitter #Mississippi #Tornadodamage pic.twitter.com/IPRwbVaqpE

— Siraj Noorani (@sirajnoorani) March 25, 2023

Standing in the heart of the #tornado damage in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.

I cannot imagine what these people experienced in real-time last night. #mswx pic.twitter.com/DmjCww4xgy

— Zachary Hall (@WxZachary) March 25, 2023

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