County cleans up after weekend storms

Mar. 28—Meridian and Lauderdale County residents began cleaning up Monday following a weekend of severe weather.

Storms on Friday and again on Sunday brought hail, rain and damaging winds, which downed trees and knocked out power. Area schools on Monday delayed or cancelled classes as utility linemen worked to restore power and road crews worked to clear streets.

Mississippi Power said crews from Laurel and Hattiesburg responded to Meridian to assist local linemen with the restoration effort. The utility provider said more than 9,000 customers were without power initially, with the number dropping to 207 by 4 p.m. Monday.

East Mississippi Electric Power Association Director of Marketing and Communication Julie Boles with said the storms had done "extensive damage" to both its transmission and distribution systems. More than 50 poles had been broken, she said, with the majority of the damage in the north part of Lauderdale County.

Crews from other cooperatives and companies, including Dixie Electric Power Association, Singing River Electric Cooperative and MDR Powerline Construction, joined EMEPA in working to restore power to everyone, Boles said. A total of 45 additional personnel came to assist, she said.

At its peak, Sunday storms knocked out power to close to 8,000 EMEPA members, Boles said. As of 4 p.m. Monday, that number had been reduced to 2,403.

Boles said drivers are encouraged to use caution as utility crews may be in the area. Residents are also asked to avoid cutting any fiberoptic or other wires during debris cleanup.

"Thank you to EMEPA members and community for the continued support and patience as crews work to rebuild the electric system and restore power to everyone in the community," she said.

As utility crews work to restore power in Lauderdale County, recovery efforts continue in the Delta, where federal, state and local emergency officials and volunteers are lending aid to the small town of Rolling Fork after a tornado Friday decimated homes and businesses.

Amory, Winona and Silver City also sustained heavy damage in Friday's storms, which killed at least 21 people throughout the state.

Both Gov. Tate Reeves and President Joe Biden declared states of emergency due to the scope of the damage to free up funding and resources to assist the recovery effort.

In a statement posted to Twitter, Reeves said it would take a long time for the affected communities to recover, but they would not have to recover alone.

"Respond. Recover. Rebuild together," Reeves wrote. "That is our mission in all the communities impacted by this devastating tornado. We will be here for the long haul."