Mississippian here, currently living just north of the path of yesterday’s tornado.
As someone else said, most of us have no place to go. Centralized shelters are few and far between, and Mississippi clay (our type of regional soil) makes it almost impossible for people to build affordable basements—basements just aren’t a thing here. Where I am, it’s pine forests for miles, so there’s a non-negligible possibility that you run into a downed tree in an attempt to find a shelter.
Rolling Fork in particular is very rural. If you’ve never been to the Delta, it’s hard to fathom, but it is very sparsely populated. I’ve lived in bigger and smaller Mississippi towns, and when you live closer to folks, you see activity and feel something different when it’s serious. Neighbors will check on you and then you know. When you’re isolated in a rural place, sometimes it’s hard to know. In addition, the Delta is very, very, VERY flat, so in this case, the tornado had little resistance from the natural environment.
My final thought, and something I admit I do: tornados do happen quickly, and we get warnings, but a lot of Mississippians and southerners don’t necessarily take them seriously. There are plenty of memes about this, and it’s unfortunately true because we get warnings for them quite frequently. This year, where I live, we’ve had them 7 times, including one 3 weeks ago. I usually start getting nervous when I hear hail (had it last night), but deadly storms don’t always produce it. But again, Mississippi is still quite rural, and some people don’t have dependable cell service. A friend of mine who lives out in the county only got last night’s message after it had passed through.
kittysback t1_jdlxqzb wrote
Reply to comment by katarina-stratford in Tornado hits western Mississippi as storms knock out power for thousands. A town is 'gone,' resident says | CNN by A179E49GFZ68722R23
Mississippian here, currently living just north of the path of yesterday’s tornado.
As someone else said, most of us have no place to go. Centralized shelters are few and far between, and Mississippi clay (our type of regional soil) makes it almost impossible for people to build affordable basements—basements just aren’t a thing here. Where I am, it’s pine forests for miles, so there’s a non-negligible possibility that you run into a downed tree in an attempt to find a shelter.
Rolling Fork in particular is very rural. If you’ve never been to the Delta, it’s hard to fathom, but it is very sparsely populated. I’ve lived in bigger and smaller Mississippi towns, and when you live closer to folks, you see activity and feel something different when it’s serious. Neighbors will check on you and then you know. When you’re isolated in a rural place, sometimes it’s hard to know. In addition, the Delta is very, very, VERY flat, so in this case, the tornado had little resistance from the natural environment.
My final thought, and something I admit I do: tornados do happen quickly, and we get warnings, but a lot of Mississippians and southerners don’t necessarily take them seriously. There are plenty of memes about this, and it’s unfortunately true because we get warnings for them quite frequently. This year, where I live, we’ve had them 7 times, including one 3 weeks ago. I usually start getting nervous when I hear hail (had it last night), but deadly storms don’t always produce it. But again, Mississippi is still quite rural, and some people don’t have dependable cell service. A friend of mine who lives out in the county only got last night’s message after it had passed through.