Mississippi residents began cleanups on Sunday after a devastating tornado swept across the state, killing at least 26 people, destroying homes and largely wiping out the small town of Rolling Fork.
US President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency on Sunday morning and ordered federal aid to Mississippi to aid recovery efforts.
With at least 26 dead in Mississippi, tornadoes that hit parts of the Deep South overnight were the deadliest in the state in more than a decade, according to National Weather Service (NWS) data.
By comparison, in April 2011, 31 people in Mississippi died during tornadoes that swept through several states, mostly in the southeastern United States, NWS meteorologist Chris Outler said Saturday. Alabama was hit hardest during that so-called “super outbreak” of hundreds of twisters that killed more than 320 people and caused an estimated $12 billion in damage.
Just a month later, another deadly twister swept through Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 people. Outler called 2011 “the most significant year for tornadoes in the past 20 years.”
The Morgan County, Alabama, sheriff’s office reported one death from a storm on Saturday, bringing the total number of overnight storms to at least 26.
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