Remembering the 2023 Rolling Fork tornado

AccuWeather

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.

Transcript

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.

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