By Mirna Alsharif -
NBC News
A system of strong electrical storms hit Georgia this Sunday with "high speed winds and multiple tornadoes," according to the governor, Republican Brian Kemp, who declared a state of emergency due to significant damage in the west of the state.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper reported two injuries in Troup County, on the Alabama border, where a person was killed by a tornado on Saturday.
Mississippi is also under an emergency and federal disaster declaration following the death of 25 people in tornadoes on Friday and Saturday.
At least one tornado, the intensity of which is unknown, was detected by radar early Sunday in LaGrange, an hour south of Atlanta, according to Nikole Listemaa of the National Weather Service.
Videos show damage to buildings and trees in the area, which was under a tornado watch.
There are 23 counties under surveillance, including the cities of Macon, Sparta and Pine Mountain.
Tornado damage in LaGrange on March 26.@bourntocreate via Twitter
At Pine Mountain, Wild Animal Safari reported that two of its tigers escaped their enclosures due to "extensive tornado damage" on Sunday.
“Fortunately, none of our animals and employees were injured.
Both [tigers] have been found, tranquilized and are now in a secure enclosure,” he said.
[Tornado surprises the population of Hidalgo, Mexico]
The National Weather Service has also issued a slight risk advisory for heavy rain in central Alabama and in Georgia, where there could be "scattered instances of flash flooding."
A chain of tornadoes leaves at least 26 dead in Mississippi and Alabama
March 25, 202302:08
President Joe Biden declared the state of Mississippi a major disaster area early Sunday because of tornado damage and ordered federal aid to help with recovery efforts, the White House said.
"It's worse than death"
The small rural town of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, lies in ruins.
Downed trees, collapsed roofs, downed power lines and downed highway poles as a tornado on Friday reduced much of the city to rubble as it passed through the Mississippi Delta, leaving a trail of devastation in one of the most impoverished regions of the world. country.
At least 25 people died in Mississippi, and one man died in Alabama.
On video: A tornado crosses the town of Shreveport, Louisiana
March 4, 202300:49
"It sounded like a train," said Andrew Dennard, 28, who described how a piece of wood flying through the air almost hit him on the head when it crashed into his house and shattered the windows.
"I don't think we can recover from this," he added, "it's worse than death."
As the city scrambled to rescue and rebuild on Sunday, the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center warned of "a couple of strong tornadoes possible" in the central Gulf states.
The state Emergency Management Agency said on Twitter that residents should "have a plan" and "know the safe places."
["It felt like a bomb." A storm causes five deaths in California and a rare tornado rips through Los Angeles]
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has declared a state of emergency and vowed to help rebuild the region, with fields of cotton, corn and soybeans, and ponds for raising catfish.
More than half a dozen shelters for displaced persons were set up.
A powerful band of rains threatens severe weather in the center and south of the country
March 23, 202302:08
Friday's tornado has a preliminary rating of EF-4, according to the National Weather Service, which implies maximum wind gusts of between 166 and 200 miles per hour, according to the agency.
[Tornadoes leave thousands without power in Texas and Louisiana as the storm moves into Arkansas and Tennessee]
Preliminary information, based on estimates and radar data, indicates that the tornado was on the ground for more than an hour and traveled 170 miles, Lance Perrilloux of the National Weather Service told The Associated Press news agency.
"That's unusual, very rare," he said, attributing the long trajectory to atmospheric instability.
He explained that according to preliminary analysis, it began its path of destruction just southwest of Rolling Fork before continuing northeast into the rural communities of Midnight and Silver City, and toward Tchula, Black Hawk, and Winona.
In Rolling Fork, the birthplace of blues musician Muddy Waters, Meg Cooper, coordinator of the Lower Delta Partnership, a nonprofit business and cultural programming group, said Saturday that the damage was "extensive and devastating."
At least five people die in California from the scourge of a new storm
March 22, 202302:14
"This tornado made its way destroying homes and most businesses," he said, adding that damage to cultural monuments, including Waters' birthplace, was still unclear.
"I thought we were dead," Velma Warren, 62, said of the tornado, explaining that she had taken refuge in a closet with her two young grandchildren.
Although her house has two broken windows, the damage is relatively minor compared to other nearby properties, which were crushed by fallen trees and torn apart by the wind.
"I don't care if I don't have shoes or a hat," he said, "I'm going to church tomorrow."
