(Rolling Fork) During his visit to a Mississippi town devastated by a deadly tornado last week, President Joe Biden vowed Friday that the federal government “wouldn’t leave” until the region was back on its feet.
The president arrived in the “Mississippi Delta” region on Friday as a new round of severe storms threaten to sweep across the Midwest and South of the United States.
Last week’s tornado destroyed about 300 homes and businesses in Rolling Fork and nearby Silver City, leaving behind mounds of wood, brick and twisted metal. Hundreds of other buildings were badly damaged. The death toll in Mississippi so far stands at 21, based on deaths confirmed by coroners. One person also died in neighboring Alabama.
In the Marine One helicopter, as they flew from Jackson to the area hardest hit by last week’s storm, President Biden and his wife Jill witnessed the extent of the devastation across acres of land farmland — destroyed homes, overturned trees and piles of debris.
The presidential motorcade later took a long dirt road through miles of farmland, passing modest homes flattened by the tornado.
“It’s tough,” Biden said as he was greeted by Mississippi state, local and federal officials after arriving in Rolling Fork. “The most important thing is that we need to let people know the reason why they should have hope, especially those who have lost someone. »
The White House had indicated prior to his arrival that the President would announce that the federal government would cover the full cost of state emergency measures for the next 30 days, including overtime for first responders and the cleaning up debris.
Mr. Biden is also expected to announce that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will open offices in disaster-stricken counties to help residents access the resources available to them.
U.S. presidents regularly visit areas that have been devastated by natural disasters or that have suffered significant loss of life as a result of shootings or other disasters. Mr. Biden must also decide whether he will travel to Nashville, where three children and three adults were shot dead in a school.
Last week’s bad weather is making life even more difficult in this already economically struggling region. Mississippi is one of the poorest states, and the predominantly black Delta region itself has long been one of the poorest in the state.
In addition, an unusual weather system has settled in this region and meteorologists feared that Friday would be one of the worst days.
According to a new study, the United States will see more of these massive storms as the planet warms. And storms are likely to hit more frequently in more populated southern states, including Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.
