ROLLING FORK, Miss —
Hundreds in Mississippi were left homeless after a powerful tornado cut through the state, killing over 20 people and injuring many more. Clean-up efforts are beginning all over the state with many efforts still in the organizing phase.
Chris Hall, founder of 606 Storm Chasing, said he was able to get to Yazoo City — about 40 miles away from Rolling Fork — during Friday night's storms.
Now, he said he’s on his way back to help with the cleanup of a town that’s now completely flattened. Before the storm, Hall can be heard on CB radio audio describing what was happening.
"Rolling Fork is about to get slapped. This is a major, major tornado on the ground, I’ve got trees falling in my location," Hall said.
Hall refers to himself as a “storm chaser,” a civilian that tracks storms and assists in local clean-up efforts afterwards. He said he witnessed the devastating tornado as it ripped through the small rural town just outside of Jackson, Mississippi.
"The tornado dropped right in front us last night southwest of Rolling Fork and instantly grew into a mile-wide wedge and went right into town," Hall said.
So far, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) confirms over 20 people were killed and countless others were injured.
Hall recalls the moment the Tornado touched down right in front of him as he was driving.
"There come the cone down — little thin cone — literally just like an ice cream cone coming out of the sky," Hall said. "Ten seconds later — mild-wide wedge. Now I mean rapid intensification on that storm. We drove about a mile south, and I honestly thought it was coming straight for me.”
Hall says the loss will be felt in this and other surrounding towns forever.
"Man alive," Hall said. "There’s nothing left of that town. I come into town, and I didn’t know where to start. You had every building that you could see — now it’s rubble.”
The Tennessee Region Red Cross said they are deploying four Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) to the affected areas in Mississippi to assist with feeding and providing other critical supplies.
Three of these the Red Cross' ERVs, including their local ERV, will meet at their Chapter location on 1399 Madison Ave. March 26 at 1 p.m. before they head south.