The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has released the total number of confirmed fatalities from Friday night’s severe weather and tornadoes has decreased to 21.
At this time, over half of the fatalities were reported to be in Sharkey County, which totaled 13 deaths. Other areas, including Carroll, Humphreys, and Monroe Counties combined confirmed the remaining amount of eight fatalities.
According to Governor Tate Reeves, communities that were hit hardest during the storms are still experiencing power outages.
“There are 24,387 power outages remaining across 16 counties as of 6 a.m. this morning. Teams continue to work to address these outages as quickly as possible,” Reeves stated. “Heavy roof damage was sustained over the Emergency Department. Roof repairs are underway and power crews are working to restore electricity to the facility.”
In all, seven counties throughout Mississippi were impacted by the storm, with approximately 1,621 homes reporting damage.
Here’s a list of the areas that had damage to public roads and homes ranging from affected to destroyed:
- Carroll – 24 homes, 3 public roads
- Humphreys – 55 homes
- Monroe – 1,476 homes, 29 public roads, 3 utilities
- Montgomery – 49 homes, 4 public roads, 1 public office building
- Grenada – 1 home
- Prentiss – 1 home
- Panola – 15 homes, 12 public roads
Those in search of shelter in Sharkey County will be relocated to South Delta Elementary School at 138 Weathers Avenue in Rolling Fork for food.
The Old Amory National Guard Building located at 101 South 9th Street in Amory will still be used as a shelter, with the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other nonprofit organizations offering food at this site.
The Humphrey County Multipurpose Building located at 417 Silver City Road in Amory is now being used as a feeding location ONLY.
The Mississippi Department of Education is currently in contact with the six school districts affected by the storms and has provided the following update:
South Delta School District (Sharkey County)
- Buildings: The district superintendent reported on 3/26/23 that school buildings were not destroyed but sustained roof damage.
- Schools are closed until further notice.
Amory School District (Monroe County)
- Buildings: High school roof sustained damage. A structural engineer will assess the building on 3/25/23 to determine if it is safe to occupy.
- Schools closed at least through 3/31/23.
Carroll County School District
- Buildings: No damage to schools.
- Schools closed at least through 3/28/23
Winona School District (Montgomery County)
- Buildings: No damage to schools.
- Schools closed on 3/27/23 and will assess daily.
New Albany School District (Union County)
- Buildings: Some structural damage.
- Schools will be open on 3/27/23
Humphreys County School District
- Buildings: No damage to schools.
- Schools will be open on 3/27/23.
Residents Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, and Sharkey Counties can now register for FEMA Individual Assistance by going online to disasterassistance.gov or calling 800-621-FEMA (3362). MEMA is also encouraging residents who can to report their damage using MEMA’s Self-Report Tool.
At this time, MEMA has coordinated multiple resources to help those impacted. Those resources include 64,000 bottles of water, 1,848 tarps, 576 meals, potable water tankers, portable restrooms, hand washing stations, batteries, bank chargers, and fuel for critical infrastructure generators.
