US Tornadoes

A widespread tornado outbreak occurred Friday, March 31, involving numerous tornadoes across the NWS Quad Cities service area. As of the afternoon of April 13th, 30 tornadoes have been confirmed, with eleven (11) reported injuries and no known fatalities. (weather.gov)

The south, upper Midwest, and tornado-torn communities again experienced strong storms, baseball-sized hail and tornadoes this week. Many of these tornadoes occurred at night, which are typically more deadly than those experienced during the day. AHAH will continue to monitor these events and step in when needed.

This past weekend, violent storms hit southern/midwestern regions of the United States, causing tornadoes to form across Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Delaware, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi, killing 32 people. This disaster comes just a week after Mississippi’s devastating EF-4 tornado, which caused 26 deaths and massive damage to infrastructure.

All Hands and Hearts will continue running their rapid response efforts in Mississippi but will expand our scope of work to the whole country. We will run remote assessments of newly affected zones and continue to monitor for future tornadoes. 

The team started working on a tree and debris removal site and is actively assessing areas in need. Our team is collaborating with the local community and other organizations, identifying ways in which we can have the greatest impact.

Today, our response team set up base at a local museum and worked alongside volunteers from the Mississippi University for Women to provide assistance where needed. Work included conducting assessments in Amory and Wren and moving donated items like food and water from the museum to a distribution center.  Tomorrow we expect a sawyer to arrive at the base, and we will be able to start chainsawing and debris removal.

All Hands and Hearts has boots on the ground and is already meeting with local contacts, including veteran All Hands and Hearts alumni. We’ve been informed that the search and rescue phase has ended.

All Hands and Hearts is mobilizing a team from around the nation to respond to this crisis. One team from Atlanta, Georgia is preparing supplies and is deploying today, while another team from Florida is already on the way. Upon arrival, both will connect with All Hands and Hearts alumni from the affected area. 

Given the scale and severity of the damage, All Hands and Hearts is mobilizing a small team to respond to these devastating tornadoes.

The governor of Mississippi has declared a state of emergency, and President Biden has ordered federal aid. All Hands and Hearts is closely monitoring reports as they become available.

A slew of devastating tornadoes has swept through Mississippi and Alabama since Friday night, killing at least 26 people, injuring dozens, and leveling some areas entirely.