It's been two years since a tornado devastated Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Frank Eason of the Sharkey County Emergency Management shares how the area has been recovering since the disaster.
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00:00Two years ago, deadly tornadoes tore through Rolling Fork, Mississippi.
00:04Tragically, 17 people were killed and more than 100 injured.
00:08Joining us right now is Frank Easton, Emergency Management Director for Sharkey County.
00:13In addition to helping the community recover, he was recently impacted again by another tornado.
00:20I'm sorry to hear that, sir.
00:23Living in Mississippi, obviously you're in what we call Tornado Alley anymore.
00:28Now, it's been just two years since the 2023 tornadoes devastated Rolling Fork.
00:34How would you describe the community's recovery today?
00:39Yeah, first of all, thanks for having us today and not forgetting about the great town of Rolling Fork.
00:45Recovery, recovery is going great for the residents.
00:49The residents here have rebuilt homes bigger and better than they were before.
00:54The stress of being in Tornado Alley is real.
00:59The anxiety when weather gets bad, it's overwhelming for people.
01:04But we have, we are a strong community and we're building back and things are looking good.
01:10So you were attending a memorial for the tornado victims just weeks ago when another storm hit and struck your own house.
01:17Can you tell us what happened and how you're doing?
01:19Yeah, we're doing fine.
01:22I was at an event on the Sunday prior to the two-year anniversary and I kept getting weather alerts that weather was getting bad.
01:32It looked like we were going to have some large hail and that's all we were going to have.
01:36But unfortunately, it got a little worse.
01:38We got a warning.
01:39I proceeded to go home and change clothes like I always do.
01:43Let's go to work.
01:44It's time to get going.
01:46And when I approached my home, I could see the twister out in the field from my house.
01:53And then, you know, once I got inside and saw that my wife was fine, you know, everything else was okay.
02:00We have been taught and she's heard me communicate that you got to get to her interior wall and those kind of things.
02:07So the plan was in place.
02:09She executed it and she was spared.
02:12The house was damaged some.
02:14The repairs are being done as we speak.
02:17But that's just part of living here in the Mississippi Delta.
02:21We got to be prepared and things will happen.
02:24All right.
02:24With Sharkey County's historic severe tornadoes, how are you keeping residents prepared?
02:29Well, since the storm, we've received a grant from the state of Mississippi to get all weather, not all weather, I'm sorry, warning sirens.
02:43I'm sorry, warning sirens for the entire county.
02:46We have about five sirens throughout the county now.
02:49We've issued all weather radios to individuals.
02:52And we get the word out through our Facebook page.
02:55The city of Rolling Fork has a telephonic message system.
03:00So we use all resources that we possibly can to get the word out to citizens that the weather is going to get bad.
03:07MEMA has a great device that you can download.
03:12And we just constantly repeat that information over and over again so the residents can feel safe that they know to prepare.
03:20What are the biggest challenges still facing your community as it rebuilds, both physically and emotionally?
03:27Yeah.
03:28The biggest hurdle we have now is just rebuilding the infrastructure, the city buildings, the courthouse.
03:38Our courthouse is still not occupied.
03:40Those things are difficult to navigate.
03:44You're dealing with FEMA and you need extra funding.
03:47So those things are challenging.
03:50You need legislative support.
03:53But that is the biggest struggle.
03:57The residents with the individual assistance have done well.
04:02You know, yes, we lost some people.
04:03Some people did not move back to the community.
04:06But in a package deal, I would say we have built back better.
04:10We've had some great organizations to come in and help us.
04:14And things are looking good.
04:15Frank Easton, emergency management director for Sharkey County.
04:20It was an honor to speak with you, sir.
04:22And our thoughts and prayers are with you as you continue, as you said, building back better.
04:28Thanks for joining us here today.