Mississippi tornado recovery will likely take years, officials say

Long-term recovery from Friday’s deadly, devastating tornado in Mississippi will likely take years, US government officials have cautioned as communities throughout the deep south state destroyed by the storm sought reassurance they would not be forgotten.

On Sunday afternoon, senior officials from White House – including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) administrator, Deanne Criswell, and the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas – visited the ravaged Delta town of Rolling Fork to meet with state officials, including the Republican governor, Tate Reeves, and survey the damage.

As search and rescue operations concluded Monday, disaster response officials turned to longer-term issues such as housing, food and public services, with certain municipal buildings destroyed and many neighborhoods reduced to rubble.

Mississippi tornado: drone footage shows devastation after deadly storm – videoSpeaking to CBS News on Monday, the Fema administrator Criswell promised “creative solutions” to housing, which she acknowledged was “going to be our biggest issue”.

The comments came as volunteers and nonprofits groups, including the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army, flooded into the area offering assistance and shelter to communities in a region that has suffered from generations of economic deprivation and poverty.

“It’s going to be a long road to recovery, trying to rebuild and get over the devastation,” said Wayne Williams, a Rolling Fork resident speaking to the Associated Press as people across town hammered blue tarps onto damaged roofs and used chainsaws to cut fallen trees.