In addition to the usual religious observances, Easter Sunday saw a series of potentially deadly storms visiting the area. The system that stretched from north Mississippi to the southern part of the state brought waves of high winds and torrential rains that flooded a number of roads in different parts of the county.
It is estimated that by early evening the county had already received about five inches of rain with more to come.
According to Emergency Management Director Buddy King, there were trees down in various parts of the county, but no structural damage has been reported and no injuries.
And even though neighboring counties reported possible tornadic activity there was none in Winston County.
Those who sought refuge at one of the shelters around the county faced another threat, the COVID-19 virus.
King stated that City of Louisville officials were creative in their thinking, asking people to remain in their vehicles, entering the shelter only if a major storm was approaching, still attempting to maintain the six-foot standard for social distancing.
King added that April and November are peak months for severe weather in the state due to changing atmospheric conditions. In April, cold air is being heated making things very unstable, and vice-versa in November. Another storm outbreak is possible later in this month, so everyone should be weather aware.
Statewide
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency continues to respond to the severe weather that hit the state on April 12, 2020. One additional fatality has been confirmed in Jones County, which brings the total number of confirmed deaths to 12. We’ve also received further reports of multiple injuries as a result of the storms.
Counties Reporting Fatalities:
Carroll – 1 Fatality
Jefferson Davis – 4 fatalities
Jones – *3 fatalities
Lawrence – 2 fatalities
Panola – 1 Fatality
Walthall – 1 fatality
There are currently more than 37,000 without power in the state. At this time, 30 counties have submitted damage reports to MEMA. These are initial reports, numbers could increase or decrease throughout today and the upcoming days.
Bolivar – 40 homes, 20 apartments, 20 roads debris, 20 roads damaged
Carroll –2 homes, 7 roads closed due to debris
Chickasaw – 12 public roads saw major damaged and 15 homes affected
Clarke –5 homes destroyed, 7 mobile homes destroyed, 5 homes major damage, 5 with minor damage
Coahoma – 24 homes damaged, 10 roads closed
Grenada –15 homes, 1 apartment, 100 roads closed due to debris
Humphreys – 1 mobile home destroyed, 2 homes minor damage
Jasper – 15 homes destroyed, 1 mobile home destroyed, 18 homes and 1 mobile home major damage, 3 homes and 3 mobile homes minor damage
Jefferson Davis - 100 homes, 40 roads closed debris, 40 roads closed damage
Jones – 18 homes and 3 mobile homes destroyed, 16 homes with major damage, 1 business destroyed, 3 businesses with major damage
Lafayette –5 homes damaged
Lawrence – 3 homes and 4 mobile homes destroyed, 4 homes and 1 mobile home with major damage, 2 businesses destroyed, 4 public roads with major damage
Leake – 10 homes damaged, 4 roads closed due to damage
Lowndes – 1 home major damage, 4 roads closed
Montgomery –10 homes, 2 roads closed due to debris
Newton –2 homes with major damage
Noxubee –5 homes, 5 roads closed due to debris and 5 roads closed due to damage.
Quitman – 15 homes damaged, 5 apartments damaged, 15 roads closed due to damage
Rankin –1 home damaged, 2 roads closed due to damage
Sharkey – 1 home damaged.
Smith – 2 homes major damage, 1 mobile home destroyed
Sunflower – 4 homes damaged, 1 road closed due to damage
Tate –3 homes damaged, 1 road closed due to damage, 1 road washed out
Walthall – 100 homes damaged
Wayne – 3 homes damaged
Yazoo –1 home destroyed, 2 homes major damage, 1 business destroyed, 2 businesses major damage, 1 public road major damage
Residents can self-report damage to county emergency management agencies through MEMA’s self-reporting tool. Those links for each county can be found on our website https://www.msema.org/.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency continues to work with local county EMA directors to assess the need for long-term sheltering. Additionally, the statewide shelter-in-place remains in effect. We want to remind everyone to social distance as best as possible and if you’re in a public shelter, wear a mask to cover your mouth and nose to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Storm recovery requires
extra care during pandemic
By Nathan Gregory
MSU Extension Service
Social distancing guidelines already urged by federal and state health agencies should be followed closely to prevent exposure to COVID-19 during post-storm cleanup.
A severe weather outbreak April 12 caused widespread damage across the Southeast, but south Mississippi was hit particularly hard after a series of tornadoes left 11 deaths, several injuries and property destruction in its wake.
The state remains under a shelter-in-place order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but power outages and structure damage are forcing some to seek temporary shelter elsewhere while first responders and volunteers are aiding in the cleanup.
“Storm victims and those assisting them are right to be concerned about exposure to the coronavirus. Physical distancing and sanitation measures must be followed even more carefully in these conditions,” said Mississippi State University Extension health specialist David Buys. “Remember to have a face covering, utilize phone or any other type of distance messaging, wash your hands as frequently as possible, and don’t touch your face, nose, or eyes with gloved or bare hands.”
Some displaced residents may need to go to a public shelter until they identify longer-term temporary housing.
“Wear nitrile or rubber or work gloves and change them often if dealing with a number of people in a community setting,” said MSU Extension governmental training officer Tom Ball. “Encourage those who go to shelters to bring face coverings and gloves and maintain at least a 6-foot-square distance to make it harder to share the virus if someone has it already, and don’t drink or eat after others.”
Food safety is also a major consideration after any disaster. Courtney Crist, assistant Extension professor in food safety, said food in the freezer that still contains ice crystals and feels as cold as if refrigerated can be safely refrozen or cooked, but all perishable foods left in the refrigerator when the power has been off for more than four hours must be thrown out. These include meat, poultry, fish, eggs and leftovers. The food safety rule is “When in doubt, throw it out.”
“In the event that the power goes out, keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature,” Crist said. “If it is half full, a freezer will keep the temperature for about 24 hours if the door remains closed. Buy dry or block ice to keep the refrigerator as cold as possible if the power is going to be out for a prolonged period of time. Fifty pounds of dry ice should keep an 18-cubic-foot, fully stocked freezer cold for two days.”
In many of the affected communities, cleanup crews have already begun debris removal. Remind family and friends who have property damage to be wary if approached by contractors offering their services unsolicited.
“Always verify the credibility of anyone you don’t know who might try to scam or overcharge you to make a quick buck,” said Becky Smith, Extension family financial management specialist. “Many well-established insurance companies and faith-based volunteer groups have good intentions, but you have to watch out for opportunists.”
Financial donations are always more helpful to disaster victims that material ones, and that is especially true during the current public health crisis.
“In between donation and receipt, material items may come in contact with someone who has COVID-19, and the virus can live for hours to days on some surfaces,” Buys said. “Storm victims can use financial assistance to purchase routinely donated items such as clothing and canned goods.”
To donate money, visit https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/ or https://salvationarmyalm.org/donate-financially/. Financial contributions can also be delivered to local non-profit, civic or faith-based groups with tax-exempt status.
Extension Information Sheet 1716, “Safety Rules and Recovery Procedures after a Natural Disaster,” is available at http://extension.msstate.edu/sites/default/files/publications/is1716.pdf.
For more information on scams, visit https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/scam-alerts.
