US President Joe Biden tours the wreckage in Mississippi a week after 26 people were killed in a massive storm that hit the southern United States.
Speaking to the hard-hit Mississippi rolling fork community, Biden said on Friday that the federal government will cover the full cost of the state’s emergency response to the storm for 30 days.
In Mississippi, extreme weather on March 24 killed 25 people and spawned at least one tornado that tore through parts of the state. In neighboring Alabama, he had one death.
Biden said in front of the building where 13 people died in Rolling Fork, a town of about 1,900 residents in western Mississippi, “In three minutes, this area was basically gone… everything was gone. I’m screwed,” he said.
“300 homes and businesses are just a pile of twisted materials,” he said. “It’s a jumble of very important personal belongings. Teddy bears, family albums, clothes, tableware, and the basics of life are all gone.”
Biden declared a state of emergency in Mississippi last Sunday and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the affected areas.
The assistance could help residents rebuild their homes, make temporary housing accessible, and more, the White House said.
In a speech Friday during Biden’s visit, Rolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker said:
“But I am confident that the folks at Rolling Fork are resilient and will help make this community bigger and better.”
The promise of rebuilding came when meteorologists warned millions to prepare for a major storm that would hit at least 15 states in the Midwest and South of the United States on Friday.
The weather threatened to bring tornadoes, blizzards and freezing rain to large swaths of the country, including areas affected by last week’s storm.
More than 85 million people received weather alerts on Friday as the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center predicted an unusually large thunderstorm that could bring hail.
Forecasters issued a tornado warning for parts of central and southwestern Arkansas Friday afternoon following reports of funnel clouds. Residents were told to seek shelter in basements or back rooms away from windows.
Ping-pong ball-sized hail fell in Missouri, Arkansas and Iowa.
Areas at highest risk for Friday’s storms were along the wide stretch of the Mississippi River from Wisconsin all the way to Mississippi, with rare high-risk advisories centered in Memphis. Between Davenport, Iowa and Quincy, Illinois and surrounding areas.
Forecasters have issued tornado advisories for both high-risk areas through Friday evening, with the weather service expecting numerous tornadoes, calling it “particularly dangerous conditions.”
Biden said Friday afternoon in Mississippi, “I would also like to note that some of these communities are once again facing the threat of severe weather.
“If you look at the weather forecast, FEMA and other federal officials are on the ground ready to respond and assist state and local officials if it really turns into a major storm,” he said.
With the newly issued Tornado Watch, there are now more than 28 million people participating in Tornado Watch.
Find and follow the latest local NWS offices at https://t.co/GWrG0hTRHN https://t.co/YkA9JobMwH pic.twitter.com/IL3iKjNTdo
— National Weather Service (@NWS) March 31, 2023
As of Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service issued a tornado advisory for eastern and central Iowa, northwestern Illinois, northeastern Missouri, and the southwestern corner of Wisconsin.
He urged the five million people living in these areas to prepare for the many powerful tornadoes that will hit Friday afternoon and evening.
The agency also warned that northeastern Arkansas, southern Bootheel Missouri, western Kentucky and western Tennessee are also at risk of tornadoes.
