At least 26 dead after fatal tornadoes strike the South
أن from the state secretary. We are from the state secretary. We are here to talk about the new new new new new new new new new new new new new new new new new new new new new new new 25 people have lost their lives in the state of Mississippi. One in Alabama and it is block after block that you see the insides of people's homes. A stovetop in other areas and we'll show you this as the sun comes up. All around here we are surrounded by what was a neighborhood. Homes now just slabs there are people's belongings.
Children's school books, people's photo albums, dresses and clothes, jeans hanging from trees that were blown by this tornado. This tornado lasted for dozens of miles and to consider a mile and a half wide the destruction. National Weather Service is giving it a preliminary rating of an EF4. That means winds exceeding 165. miles per hour. This outbreak on Friday night, nocturnal tornadoes that came through the deep south. This is literally every single week since Christmas.
This area has gone through some sort of severe weather outbreak. And sure enough, as spring came upon us, an absolute destruction in this region. Not a good situation as emergency officials are still searching through rubble. The state of Mississippi is giving support. The state is on the ground and we will just wait until the sun comes up here today as day two in the aftermath of this terrible deadly destruction here in rolling for Mississippi. back to you. Robert the Mississippi Delta, one of the poorest areas of this country we learned yesterday at rolling forks, the town of about 1800.
As you just mentioned a mile and a half wide tornado. I have to ask what's left of rolling for. I have to tell you, I came in here last night about an hour before sunset flew in from Atlanta and you know I've been on the ground in multiple tornadoes Joplin, Missouri, Tuscaloosa and 2011 some of the most historic deadly tornadoes that have been seen in America seen in recent times. And I will say, there's not a whole lot left here. There is City Hall in the darkness to my right, your left. Part of it is standing. Of course, part of it is crumbled as well.
But this is a town that when you drive through you realize there's not a lot left. But that doesn't mean there's not going to be a rebuild. Though as you mentioned, one of the poorest areas in all of America, the challenges are going to be paramount moving forward. And Robert real quick, we know there was some notice and you said there's been a lot of severe weather down there, but there were in some cases minutes notice of exactly where it would hit. So most people that that are there hunkered down in their homes, right? So you've got a whole community of people who spent a night of sheer terror. Absolutely. I spoke to one woman last night and she told me that they just got into their bathtub at the last second.
And she described it as about a minute or two of fury. Noises. She's never heard before fear. She's never felt before and I asked her, I said when it was over when you felt like you could move out of your bathtub and you walked out, what did you experience? And her words were darkness, darkness and sounds that I've never heard, you know, sirens in the in the distance alarms going off and she walked out out of her home where the roof was taken off and brick walls collapsed. And she walked out with her family and looked around and really couldn't get a grasp for scenes like this because they weren't lit and all the power was out. But she knew that what had just went over this town had destroyed it. And sure enough, when I spoke to her, she sat gazing at her house yesterday in complete and utter shock.
Look, this is really traumatic and the shock is still very much a part of what's going on. It's going to be like this for weeks. And then people are going to have to look at, okay, so my town is gone. Where do I go? Where do I live? Where do I work? And how do I move forward? Devastating. A lot, a lot for them to deal with in the next coming weeks and we're glad that you're there and we will continue to tell the story throughout the morning and in the weeks to come. Thank you, Robert. Thanks, Robert.
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