Horrific tornadoes touched down in Mississippi on Friday night, causing massive damage for miles.
You knew it was going to be bad when you got this kind of warning from the meteorologists, some of whom said they’d never seen anything so severe.
This local meteorologist, WTVA’s Matt Laubhan was so overcome by what he saw. He said, “Oh, man” then a quick prayer, as the tornado was bearing down on the city of Amory.
“We got a new scan here as we speak,” he said. “Oh, man! Like northside of Amory, this is coming in.” He then sighed deeply and said, “Oh, man! Dear Jesus, please help them. Amen.”
Then the pictures and video of the tornado were immense. You can see and hear how enormous it is.
This is what it looked like. Aaron Rigsby took the pictures and video, then did all he could to help out the people where it touched down.
The look at night was bad enough. But the pictures and video this morning looked like a nuclear bomb was dropped on the area, with the bark even being ripped off the trees and trees being reduced to sticks. Virtually all of the homes in the area were wiped out.
There was a lot of speculation that the tornadoes may have been EF4 or even EF5, but I don’t think there’s been a determination yet. EF4 is 166-200 mph, and EF5 is in excess of 200 mph.
According to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, at least 23 people were killed, dozens of others injured, and four remained missing in the wake of the tornado that ripped through the area. They said, “Unfortunately, the numbers were expected to change,” meaning the likelihood of deaths/injuries would rise.
Thirteen were dead in Sharkey County, and the county seat of Rolling Fork may have been the worst hit by the tornado path, with damage stretching for more than 100 miles.
There was “devastation all around us,” Mayor Eldridge Walker explained, saying they were working on getting people to the hospital, and the number of people injured was not clear yet. People were trapped in the rubble, and no one knows how many. Some law enforcement units were also unaccounted for in the storm’s aftermath, according to the Vicksburg News.
There were at least 11 tornadoes reported across Mississippi and Alabama, with what may have been one of the worst touching down around 9 p.m. The one that went through Rolling Fork was reportedly a mile wide, and you can see that in the video above.
MS Gov. Tate Reeves asked people to pray for the people affected and said he was on his way to Sharkey County.
“At least twenty three [sic] Mississippians were killed by last night’s violent tornadoes,” he said. “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.”
They have a FEMA team on the way to help out.
They also have a lot of good people on their way, to do what they can to assist the people in need at this time.
