Tornado naturaldisasters natural disaster Natural disasters infrastructure damage Mississippi

An EF4 rated tornado hit Mississippi, U.S.A.

*Mississippi tornado affected area (Aaron Rigsby/ LSM, from foxnews.com)*

A devastating tornado hit the state of Mississippi during the night hours of Friday, March 24.

The tornado received an EF4 rating, which has top wind gusts ranging between 265km/h and 320 km/h, according to the National Weather Service office in Jackson. The office also estimated, from satellite data and reports, that the tornado travelled a distance of at least 274km.

The incident has so far claimed at least 26 human lives and spread destruction in several small towns along its path. Furthermore, the tornado obliterated several houses in addition to flipping cars and damaging power lines and water infrastructure.

More specifically, a water tower toppled in the town of Rolling Fork, while The City of Amory Water Department issued a boiling water notice to its customers and citizens, as the city’s water department was impacted by the tornado.

According to PowerOutage.us, by Saturday morning 83,000 homes and businesses were left without power across Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, 25,000 of which continued until Saturday evening.

A natural gas smell was reported in the town of Rolling Fork shortly after the event and Atmos Energy has cut gas lines for the safety of residents and first responders.

Search and rescue teams have been deployed in the area, while federal remediation funding has been announced by the White House.