March 24th Tornado Outbreak - One Year Later

On March 24th, 2023, eight tornadoes touched down across Mississippi, including an EF-4 in Rolling Fork and Silver City and an EF-3 tornado in Amory. Storms tracked through Montgomery, Carroll, and Panola counties as well. The storms caused widespread damage and changed the landscape of our state. As we look back through the year, we want to remember the 22 lives that were lost and the dozens more injured.

Over the last 12 months, significant progress has been made by the local communities, alongside state and federal partners and volunteers. Over 1.4 million cubic yards of debris from the tornadoes have been removed state-wide so rebuilding could begin. Right after the disaster, Mississippi entered its first housing mission since Hurricane Katrina. Nearly 800 survivors were placed in non-congregate sheltering in hotels across the state and provided meals until they found permanent or temporary housing solutions. As of March 14th, only two people remain in hotels. 340 survivors are living in FEMA temporary housing units, Samaritan’s Purse has provided nearly 50 manufactured homes and other survivors were able to rebuild.

This is a look at Rolling Fork two days after the storm and this is what it looks like a year later. Chuck’s Dairy Bar in Rolling Fork is one of the pillars of the community and has been working to rebuild and continue to give survivors a place to eat.

Silver City looks vastly different. Today, FEMA trailers are on the lots where homes used to be, and many homes are starting to be rebuilt as well. Amory is continuing to recover. Where there was a damaged gas station is now a dirt lot where construction will begin soon on a new store. Apartments and neighborhoods continue to be rebuilt.

Recovery of these communities could not happen without the help of all our faith-based and volunteer organizations. Earlier this month, volunteers with the Mennonite Disaster Services were busy in Silver City, and Eight Days of Hope helped families in Amory. And those are just a few of the many volunteer organizations who helped our state recover.

Although a lot of progress has been made, there is more work to do. MEMA will continue our mission to work with counties on this long road to recovery. As plans to build a safe room in Sharkey County are underway and new warning sirens are installed, it’s our goal to build back better and more resilient.