Matt Laubhan, a meteorologist for the US network WTVA, raised his hands to his face when he saw live how a huge tornado was just “20 seconds” from hitting the town of Amory, in the south of the state of Mississippi. He was aware of the devastating effect that this meteorological phenomenon could have, but the only thing he could do from the television set was pray. “Oh man… Jesus, please help them.”
Laubhan’s reaction of helplessness and dismay has gone viral on social media. In the images you can see how at one point in the live broadcast, when updating the radar to see the status of the tornado, she reveals that the trajectory of the meteorological phenomenon is moving rapidly towards Amory. Visibly saddened, he warns of its danger and can only lament the more than foreseeable tragedy that was about to occur.
“Oh, man. Dear Jesus please help them.” WTVA meteorologist Matt Laubhan grows emotional as he reports on Mississippi tornado last night. pic.twitter.com/mBEWWr9DrL
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) March 25, 2023
The force of the violent storms, with several tornadoes, in the southern United States were more than proven soon after. Its devastating effects have resulted in at least 26 deaths in Mississippi and one in Alabama.
“We know that there are many more injured,” stressed the governor of this state, Tate Reeves, who acknowledged that there are at least four people missing. “The scale of the damage and loss is evident in all affected places today. Houses, businesses… entire communities.” For all these reasons, he did not hesitate to declare a state of emergency in the affected areas, celebrating the “strong spirit” of the residents of the state. Shortly after the president of the United States, Joe Biden, ordered federal aid to complement the efforts, in the counties of Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey, according to he indicated in a statement. “We will do everything we can to help,” he also wrote on his official Twitter profile, after noting that they were assessing the extent of the damage, “but we know that many of our compatriots mourn family and friends or have lost their homes and businesses. ».
“Respond, recover, rebuild together. That is the mission,” Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said a few hours after the disaster. The images speak for themselves. There are entire neighborhoods that have been reduced to nothing. The spokesman for the National Weather Service in Jackson, Nicholas Price, indicated that the devastating tornado remained on the ground for “approximately an hour”, opening a path of destruction “about 170 miles”, which is equivalent to almost 275 kilometers long.