Washington (EFE) caused at least 25 deaths.
The Mississippi Weather Service warned that new tornadoes could occur in the next few hours, although in the southern part of the state, not in the counties most affected by the events that occurred on Friday night, Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey.
For its part, the National Weather Service reported that severe electrical storms will persist until tonight in a large part of the southern and southeastern states.
“Some strong tornadoes and hail can occur, particularly from central Louisiana to central/southern Alabama,” he said via social media. In Alabama, one person also died Friday from extreme weather events.
In a press conference, the governor of Mississippi, the Republican Tate Reeves, reported that they are “monitoring very closely” the possible meteorological phenomena in his state and that there are emergency personnel prepared to act if necessary.
“People should listen to their local officials and heed their warnings and follow their instructions regarding what to do if a severe weather event is imminent,” he said.
Reeves explained that these types of storms are very frequent in the area and explained that since he was sworn in in January 2020, the federal government has officially declared 14 natural disasters.
The press conference was held in Rolling Fork Township, which has been completely destroyed, according to images released by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MSEMA), showing debris from homes (many of them wood), crushed vehicles and uprooted trees.
Funds to recover the area
The governor was accompanied at the press conference by the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, who reiterated state support for the recovery of the area, a few hours after the president of the United States, Joe Biden, declared this Sunday as “major disaster” area affected counties.
Biden thus made federal funds available to affected people in Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey counties, and announced that the aid could be expanded to other areas if necessary.
“We walked through the streets of this town seeing devastation on both sides of the road,” Mayorkas said. “It’s heartbreaking to hear about the loss of life and see the devastation firsthand, but it’s inspiring to see the people of Mississippi come together to help,” he added.
Governor Reeves explained that this storm and what made it so dangerous was that it came at night. “They are very hard to see when they come in the middle of the night and there tends to be more deaths,” he said.
After an initial figure of 23, yesterday the number of deaths was increased to 25 and until now it remains the same, although several missing persons are still being searched for. Four people who were missing turned up alive yesterday afternoon.
Reeves pointed out that there is “some chance that the numbers could go up” but that they could also go down since there are suspicions that some of the deaths did not occur “because of the storm.”
With his statement, Biden ordered federal aid to supplement recovery efforts, with assistance that may include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and homeowners. business to recover from the effects of the disaster.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the designated agency to coordinate federal recovery operations in affected areas, while damage assessment efforts continue in other areas and more counties could be designated as recipients for help when they are complete.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety released today that donations are being accepted and items such as bottled water, canned food and paper products are greatly appreciated.