On March 24, 2023, tornadoes ripped through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. The town hit hardest was Rolling Fork, Mississippi. 35% of people in that area live under the poverty line. 

A lot of people weren’t even alerted about this 170-mph tornado. Percy Johnson, one of many impacted spoke to ABC news, “When we heard our phones chirp, that’s the only signal. They told us we had 5 minutes, I did not have 5 minutes.”

This is a very pressing issue, as Rolling Fork is a less wealthy area. They need a lot of help from others around the country to recover. Curtis Macon, another local resident interviewed by ABC, who lost an uninsured convenience store spent a lot building in the storm. They really need assistance, so the town needs funding from the government in order to fix things. This issue is one that needs to be addressed, and the government must help out.

 Another thing the government needs to do is make a closer storm shelter. During the storm, the closest rated shelter was almost 20 miles away– which means there aren’t a lot of places to live safely while recovery happens. 

Fortunately, these concerns are likely to be addressed. President Biden came over to the area to pledge federal support. Thanks to this, Rolling Fork’s future is looking more hopeful than it used to.

Since then, an EF2 tornado has hit the upper midwest. However, the damage is less severe.

If you want to help out with this deadly EF4 tornado, donate to Mississippi Center for Legal Services, or text TORNADO to 90999, which donates to the Red Cross.