Severe weather impact hundreds in Union County
UNION COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Severe weather impacted Northeast Mississippi, leaving a trail of damage.
In Union County, several people need another place to live.
Trees tumbled onto homes across Union County during the severe weather on April 5.
Trees also came down. Much of Sunday, April 6, was spent cleaning up after at least one suspected tornado swept through the region.
Union County’s Emergency Service Director, Curt Clayton, said responding to those dealing with the severe weather made a major difference.
“On responding to storms like that, we try to send out our local fire departments in the area to do a general assessment,” Clayton said. “If it is something that goes in and we got folks trapped in houses, then we’ll pull rescue in like the search and rescue group as long as New Albany rescue, and we’ll do a structural collapse or whatever we have to do to get those victims out.”
Clayton said hundreds of people lost power from storms in the area.
Union County Sheriff Jimmy Edwards said it can be dangerous work to get out in the storm to start helping people.
“Lots of trees down, I mean we’ve been very lucky and very blessed it could have been a lot worse,” Edwards said. “We was trying to get out and survey the damage, of course. There would be another warning come out, heavy rain, and we would have to pause for a minute but just trying to check roads and get road crews out to clear roads.”
Union County First responders have strategies to ensure the safety of those in need.
Clayton said it’s essential that people know what to do after there’s weather damage reported.
“Those roads are narrow, just stay off of them if you ain’t got no business in there because they got trucks sitting there with trailers and trying get these folks lives back to normal as can be,” Clayton said. “These folks that’s coming through their just looking and it’s interfering with their work, it’s interfering with a lot of the departments trying to get around with folks sitting there just looking. So, if you don’t have any business there, we ask you to just please stay out that area until we get it cleaned up.”
There are also many volunteers helping out with cleaning Union County.
Clayton said there are no injuries reported.
