Topline
At least 23 people are dead after tornadoes tore across Mississippi overnight while thousands more are without power Saturday morning, according to state emergency officials, who said they expect the death toll to rise as cleanup and rescue efforts continue.
At least 23 people were killed by overnight tornadoes in Mississippi.
Key Facts
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MSEMA) said Saturday morning that 23 people were killed by tornadoes in the state, while dozens more were injured and four people were missing.
The agency noted the death toll and numbers for people injured and missing “are expected to change,” as both the agency and Gov. Tate Reeves (R-Miss.) said search and rescue teams are still active throughout the state.
There were more than 1.3 million people without power in Mississippi overnight, though there are only 15,315 without power as of 9:30 a.m., according to PowerOutage.us, in addition to 45,495 in Tennessee and 19,674 in Alabama.
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado 60 miles northeast of Jackson, Mississippi, before it moved through Silver City and Rolling Fork—though other tornadoes were reported across portions of Tennessee, Texas and Missouri.
A destroyed home in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.
Crucial Quote
Eldridge Walker, the mayor of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, told CNN that his town had been severely damaged, noting that “my city is gone.”
Further Reading
Mississippi Tornadoes Kill 23, Injure Dozens Overnight (AP)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/03/25/tornadoes-kill-23-in-miss-thousands-without-power-across-the-south/