Last week's tornado destroyed roughly 300 homes and businesses in Rolling Fork and the nearby town of Silver City. The death toll in Mississippi stood at 21. One person died in Alabama, as well.
President Joe Biden visited Mississippi after a deadly tornado hit the state, and said the federal government would cover the total cost of the state’s emergency measures for the next 30 days, in remarks on March 31, 2023.saw for himself the flattened homes, broken furniture, and children's toys left behind by last week's deadly tornado in Mississippi and vowed that the federal government is "not leaving" until the area is back on its feet.
"This is tough stuff," Biden said as he was greeted by state, local and federal officials after arriving in Rolling Fork. "The most important thing is we got to let people know the reason for them to have hope, especially those who have lost somebody.
Resident Paul Rice drove around Rolling Fork on an ATV vehicle to survey dismantled infrastructure and check on friends whose homes had been destroyed. Rice didn’t vote for Biden in the last election, but he welcomed the continued attention Friday’s visit brought to the town’s plight. Presidents regularly visit parts of the U.S. that have been ravaged by natural disasters or suffered major loss of life from shootings or other disasters. Republicans have criticized Biden for not yet making a trip to the site of a toxic chemical spill in a small Ohio town. He also has to decide whether to visit Nashville after three children and three adults were shot and killed at Covenant School.
Two of the counties walloped by the tornado, Sharkey and Humphreys, are among the most sparsely populated in the state, with only a few thousand residents in communities scattered across wide expanses of cotton, corn and soybean fields. Sharkey’s poverty rate is 35%, and Humphreys’ is 33%, compared with about 19% for Mississippi overall and less than 12% for the entire United States.
Biden approved a disaster declaration for the state, which frees up federal funds for temporary housing, home repairs and loans to cover uninsured property losses. But there's concern that inflation and economic troubles may blunt the impact of federal assistance.
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