ROLLING FORK, Miss. — President Biden promised Friday that the federal government would help Mississippi recover and rebuild from the devastation caused by a deadly tornado that tore through rural parts of the state last week.
The storm killed at least 26 people and injured dozens of others in Rolling Fork, a town of about 2,000, and across a wide swath of the Mississippi Delta, leaving the region struggling for help to respond on behalf of those affected.
“This is a tough thing,” Biden said after arriving in his motorcade, which passed house after house that had been reduced to piles of wood and twisted metal.
“The thing that really always amazes me, in all the tornadoes I’ve been in lately, is you have a house standing and a house, from here to the wall, totally destroyed,” he said. “It is not but by the grace of God.”
Mr. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden met privately with families affected by the storms at South Delta Elementary School, which had parts of the roof torn off and trees toppled.
The couple then walked through streets damaged by the tornado, stopping briefly to speak with residents whose homes were blown apart by high winds.
As he scoured the rubble, Biden saw a devastated city with many half-standing houses with roofs torn off. Power lines remained in the ground. Blue plastic tarps covered the roofs of houses that still had walls to cling to. A sofa cushion was hanging from the branches of a tree.
On an overturned truck, a member of the town hung an American flag.
“I’ve been to too many places like this in the last two years across the country,” Biden told a small group of people who had gathered for his short speech. “And I always see the same thing in the United States. When the neighborhood is in trouble, the whole neighborhood comes to help.”
The president spoke to a family whose roof had been cut off. Further down the road, workers had created huge piles of debris as part of the area’s cleanup process.
After the brief walk, Biden spoke for about 10 minutes, saying his administration would stay with residents for as long as necessary to help those affected by the storm.
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“We are not here just for today,” he said. “I am determined, and we are not going to leave anything behind. We will do it for you. That is why I am here.”
During his remarks, Biden stood in front of a heap of twisted blue metal and wood that had once been an animal shelter and auto parts store. The trees behind him were stripped of their branches, making the area appear even more desolate.
Earlier in the day, Biden received information about the tornado and its damage from federal emergency management officials and local politicians, who described the horror of the storm, which tore through the state for more than an hour.
Throughout the day, Biden was joined by Tate Reeves, the state’s Republican governor, who had repeatedly clashed with the president over Covid-19 restrictions.
Mr Biden had criticized the governor for failing to implement what he called common-sense health restrictions, while Mr Reeves called the president’s coronavirus policies “tyrannical” in a back-and-forth war of words. during days.
That ill will was nowhere to be found Friday, as Reeves warmly welcomed Biden, and the aid of the federal government, to his embattled state.
“I appreciate the fact that the President of the United States is here in Sharkey County, Mississippi to deliver further remarks today, to hear from the people most affected, and most importantly, as he and the Dr. Biden throughout the day, show compassion for those who have been hit the hardest,” Mr. Reeves said while introducing Mr. Biden.
“So without further ado,” he said, “please give a warm Mississippi welcome to the President of the United States.”