City of Moss Point dealing with aftermath of tornado
Today was a day for clean up for many Moss Point residents after a tornado ripped through town Monday afternoon.
At around 3 p.m. Monday afternoon, the City of Moss Point was hit with a tragedy they’ll never forget.
An EF2 tornado came through the north-western edge of the River City and proceeded straight through the City of Moss Point and right through downtown. Moss Point Fire Chief Danny Wade said, “We’re out assessing the damage right now. That’s kind of what we’re in, recovery mode today. We’re out there cleaning streets, we’ve got the power company here trying to restore power, we’ve got utilities here trying to restore some utilities as far as gas and different things like that.”
There was significant damage at the Merchants and Marine Bank and the First Missionary Baptist Church after being hit by the maximum wind strength of 130 miles per hour and a max width of 300 yards.
City officials and organization leaders met first thing on Tuesday to discuss the severe damage. The Mississippi power crews are hard at work restoring power to customers. Mississippi Power Spokesman Jeff Shepard said, “We’re here on Main Street right now. We have got crews from across the Mississippi Power service territory working on Main Street. We’ve got to replace twelve 45-foot poles on this main thoroughfare through the heart of down town Moss Point. This is just kind of a glimpse of the work we have going on all over the city.”
Over 100 homes and businesses were damaged and an estimated 15 to 20 of them are unlivable. One of the homes completely destroyed was owned by the aunt of Myra Nettles Howard. She said, “She’s been here for over 76 years here in Moss Point and this house has survived Hurricane Camille, Katrina, Fredrick, and never had this amount of devastation. This just totally caught us by surprise.”
Instead of focusing on the items lost and debris inside and outside the home, Howard is grateful that no lives were taken. “We’re just grateful that no lives were lost during this tragic moment here in Moss Point, and when we all get back to going, may we not forget that God is the one that’s the ultimate savior of us not losing any loved ones.”
