Biden declares emergency in Mississippi after tornado

Aerial view of a destroyed neighbourhood in Rolling Fork, Mississippi Saturday. Pic/AFP

President Joe Biden early Sunday issued an emergency declaration for Mississippi, making federal funding available to Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey counties, areas hardest hit Friday night by a deadly tornado that ripped through the Mississippi Delta, one of the poorest regions of the U.S.

Rescuers raced Saturday to search for survivors and help hundreds of people left homeless after a powerful tornado cut a devastating path through Mississippi, killing at least 25 people, injuring dozens, and flattening entire blocks as it carved a path of destruction for more than an hour. One person was killed in Alabama.

Search and recovery crews on Sunday resumed the daunting task. Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell was scheduled to visit the state on Sunday to evaluate the destruction. FEMA Coordinating Officer John Boyle has been appointed to oversee federal recovery operations. Following Biden's declaration, federal funding can be used for recovery efforts including temporary housing, home repairs, loans covering uninsured property losses and other individual and business programs, the White House said in a statement.

Also Read: Will do everything we can to help: Joe Biden on Mississippi tornado damage

But even with recovery just starting, the National Weather Service warned of a risk of more severe weather Sunday - including high winds, large hail and possible tornadoes - in eastern Louisiana, south central Mississippi and south central Alabama.

Based on early data, the tornado received a preliminary EF-4 rating, the National Weather Service office in Jackson said late Saturday in a tweet. An EF-4 tornado has top wind gusts between 166 mph and 200 mph (265 kph and 320 kph), according to the service. "Preliminary information based on estimates from storm reports and radar data indicate the tornado was on the ground for more than an hour and traversed at least 170 miles (274 kilometers)," said Lance Perrilloux, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Jackson, Mississippi, office.

25
No of people killed in Mississippi

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