At least 32 people were killed as a severe weather outbreak of tornadoes ravaged the South over the weekend. Emergency officials stated hundreds of homes and businesses in Mississippi and Louisiana suffered catastrophic and left millions of customers without electricity.
What We Know:
- There were more than 40 reports of tornadoes as a strong storm system, which began on Easter Sunday, carved a deadly and devastating path all over the South, in every state from Texas to the Carolinas.
- Mississippi and Louisiana were the most effected states in this weather event. There were at least 11 deaths recorded as of Monday morning in Mississippi and Louisiana took the hardest hit as far as structural damage.
- About 300 homes alone were damaged or destroyed in Monroe, Louisiana, police Sgt. Chuck Johnson told The Weather Channel. The city is working with local hotels to house all the victims displaced by the storms. They are trying to avoid housing large numbers of people in one place due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Our Area Coordinator captured this drone footage of the devastating damage in Jefferson Davis County following yesterday's severe weather outbreak. pic.twitter.com/cfkl6Z4yVt
— msema (@MSEMA) April 13, 2020
- The Mississippi State Emergency Management Agency (MSEMA) confirmed the Lawrence County deaths. It said on Twitter that one person had died in Walthall County and there had been three confirmed fatalities in Jefferson Davis County.
- Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency over the storms. “This is not how anyone wants to celebrate Easter Sunday,” he said in a statement. “The state and our first responders are working around the clock and will not rest until this is over. We are mobilizing all resources available to protect our people and their property.”
By Monday, the system will finish targeting the East Coast. There will still be a threat of tornadoes, damaging winds and hail. It is advised to avoid dangerous conditions and officials advise residents of Florida, Virginia, North and South Carolina to heed all severe weather alerts.
