The federal government will aid Mississippi in recovering and rebuilding from the destruction brought on by a fatal tornado that tore through rural areas of the state last week, President Biden promised on Friday.
At least 26 people were killed and injured by the hurricane at Rolling Fork, a city of around 2,000 people, as well as throughout much of the Mississippi Delta, forcing the struggling area to ask for assistance in order to assist those impacted.
As Mr. Biden arrived at his motorcade, passing house after house reduced to piles of wood and twisted metal, he muttered, “This is rough stuff.
“One house is standing and one house is completely wrecked from all the tornadoes I’ve witnessed recently, which really always surprises me.
At South Delta Elementary School, where trees and a portion of the roof were torn off by the storms, Mr. Biden and the First Lady, Jill Biden, held private meetings with families who had been impacted. After that, the pair strolled through the tornado-damaged neighborhoods, pausing briefly to chat with locals whose houses had been completely destroyed by the high winds.
Mr. Biden observed a destroyed city with many homes only partially standing and roofs torn off as he looked over the debris. Ground-based power wires were still there. Houses with still-attachable walls have blue plastic sheeting covering their roofs. A couch cushion was suspended from a tree’s limbs.
On a truck that was on its side, a local resident had an American flag flying.
I’ve gone to too many locations similar to this.
