WITHIN three hours of multiple tornado touchdowns wreaking havoc across much of central and north Mississippi, USA, on Saturday 24 April, Salvation Army Emergency Service units had commenced providing food, water and emotional relief at five locations.
This response escalated and by Sunday The Salvation Army had mobile feeding units operating in Alabama as well as Mississippi.
Ten people are reported to have been killed by the tornados that have also affected the USA states of Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama.
On Saturday, Salvation Army Disaster response teams served more than 830 hot meals and 450 snacks to residents and emergency services personnel in Mississippi.
Salvation Army emergency units from Jackson and Laurel are serving the hard-hit Yazoo City area where more than 60 homes have been reported as damaged. Another unit from Jackson has responded to the Eagle Lake Community along the Mississippi River where 30 homes were damaged. Personnel and a mobile feeding unit from Starkville and Columbus have responded to multiple locations in Choctaw County. The Salvation Army in Carthage has responded to the scene of a tornado in Attala County. Mobile canteens are also operating in Alabama in the communities of Albertville and Fort Payne.
'This day has seen so many lives ripped apart by an act of nature. The Salvation Army wants to provide an act of God in serving the residents of Mississippi recovering form this historic event', stated Captain Ken Chapman of The Salvation Army in Jackson on Saturday. 'Our hope is that through the love of Christ the emotional and physical scars can begin to heal.'
Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi Divisional Public Information Officer
