Poverty is making it harder to recover from a massive storm that swept through the southern US state of Mississippi late last week, killing at least 25 people and destroying entire neighborhoods.
A tornado destroyed the modest one-story home Kimberly Berry shared with her two daughters in the Mississippi Delta plains, leaving only a foundation and some random belongings: an overturned refrigerator, a dresser and matching nightstand, a bag of Christmas decorations, and some clothing .
During Friday’s storm, Berry and her 12-year-old daughter huddled and prayed in a nearby church that was barely damaged, while her 25-year-old daughter survived in the hard-hit town of Rolling Fork, 15 miles (24 km) away.
Berry, 46, shook her head as she looked at the remains of their material possessions. She said she is thankful that she and her children are still alive.
“I can get all this back. It’s nothing,” said Berry, who works as a supervisor at a catfish farm and processing facility. “It’s not going to make me depressed.”
Search and rescue workers on Sunday assessed damage from destroyed homes, destroyed buildings and wrecked cars in Rolling Fork, which was devastated by the storm.
“My community is gone,” Mayor Eldridge Walker told CNN.
The devastation here in Rolling Fork is heartbreaking.
Grateful to our federal partners for being here on site to witness the impact of this tornado.
The character and generosity of Mississippians is fully expressed with the countless volunteers and donations offered. pic.twitter.com/rK4SmD8AVT
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) March 26, 2023
US President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for Mississippi on Sunday, releasing federal aid to help communities rebuild.
“Grateful to our federal partners for being here on site to witness the impact of this tornado,” Governor Tate Reeves wrote on Twitter. “The character and generosity of Mississippians is on full display with the countless volunteers and donations on offer.”
But many people in the state face an uncertain future. Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the country, and the predominantly Black Delta region has long been one of the poorest parts of Mississippi, a place where many people move from paycheck to paycheck in agriculture-related jobs.
Two of the counties toppled by the tornado, Sharkey and Humphreys, are among the most sparsely populated in the state with only a few thousand residents in communities scattered across vast cotton, corn and soybean fields.
Sharkey’s poverty rate is 35 percent and Humphreys’ is 33 percent, compared to about 19 percent for Mississippi and less than 12 percent for the entire country.
“It’s going to be a long road to recovery, trying to rebuild and get over the devastation,” said Wayne Williams, who teaches construction skills at a vocational education center in Rolling Fork, as people in town hammered and used blue tarps on damaged roofs chainsaws to cut fallen trees.
Tornadoes, a weather phenomenon notoriously difficult to predict, are relatively common in the US, especially in the central and southern parts of the country.
Jeremiah Stapleton, 18, climbs the window of his grandfather’s house, which was crushed by a large tree in Rolling Fork, Mississippi (Cheney Orr/Reuters)
The National Weather Service gave Friday’s tornado, which left a trail of destruction more than 160 km (100 miles) across the state, a rating of four out of five on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with winds of up to 320 kilometers per hour (200 mph). miles). per hour).
Dozens of people were injured and officials say the death toll could rise.
The storm also killed a man in Alabama when he became trapped under an overturned trailer, the Morgan County sheriff’s office said.
Volunteers have poured in from surrounding towns, including Lauren Hoda, who has traveled 112km (70 miles) to help. She spent Saturday night in Rolling Fork bringing donations of water, food, canned goods, diapers, wipes, medicines and toothpaste from collection points.
Similar destruction plagued twister-stricken Silver City, where residents saw what they could salvage from destroyed homes.
Berry spent the weekend with friends and family sorting salvageable items at her destroyed home near a two-lane road that runs through farmland.
She said she walked to the church before the tornado hit because her sister called her Friday night, frantically saying that TV weather forecasters had warned of a potentially deadly storm heading toward her. Berry said as the storm rumbled and howled overhead, trying to ignore the sound.
“All that was on my mind was praying, praying and crying out to God,” she said on Saturday. “I heard nothing but my own prayers and God answering my prayer. I mean, I can get another house, different furniture. But literally saving my life – I am grateful.”
