A series of storms moving across the Southeastern U.S. produced several destructive tornados on the evening of March 24, killing 26 people. The damage was greatest in Mississippi, where an EF-4 tornado with winds in excess of 170 miles per hour tore through the town of Rolling Fork, killing 13 people and leveling homes and businesses. Satellite images showed that the tornado continued its destructive path across the state for nearly 60 miles. Analysis of the same images resulted in a preliminary damage assessment of 313 structures destroyed, 212 structures sustaining major damage, and 520 structures sustaining minor damage. In Georgia, the tornados damaged nearly 100 structures and killed 1 person. Another fatality occurred in Alabama.
Worsening the impact of the storms were the lack of tornado safe rooms in the impacted areas, the strength of the tornados, the prevalence of tornado-vulnerable manufactured housing in the impacted areas, and the fact that the tornado struck at night when individuals were more likely to be asleep or unaware of the danger. Individuals in Rolling Fork reported that the town’s tornado warning siren did not sound prior to the tornado’s arrival.
Rolling Fork and other areas impacted by the tornado outbreak consist of largely majority Black and impoverished communities. The lack of resources will severely complicate efforts to replace damaged housing, find alternative shelter, and begin the process of long-term recovery.
President Biden quickly approved federal assistance, including FEMA’s Individual Assistance Program – which can provide temporary housing assistance and funding for basic home repairs – for impacted counties in Mississippi, including Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, Montgomery, Panola, and Sharkey counties. HUD also announced it would provide greater flexibility to allocated HUD housing funds and is assisting FEMA in identifying vacant housing units for use as temporary shelters. The President visited Rolling Fork along with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge on March 31.
The NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC), a group of over 890 local, state, and national organizations working to ensure that all disaster survivors receive the assistance they need to fully recover, will continue to monitor the situation and work with DHRC members and partners from impacted areas to ensure access to recovery assistance is being provided.
Find more information on the DHRC at: https://bit.ly/2NOHusW