Challenges and Best Practices for Assessing Catastrophic Tornado Damage across a Vulnerable Community; Rolling Fork, Mississippi

On March 24, 2023, a violent tornado ravaged the small Mississippi Delta town of Rolling Fork, population 1,776 (2021). The Mississippi Delta region has a medium household income nearly $10,000 less than the state’s average and is historically one of the most vulnerable populations in the country, but is no stranger to tornadoes. However, the Rolling Fork tornado was one of the most damaging and deadly tornadoes in decades. The 17 lives lost in the Rolling Fork-Silver City EF-4 tornado were the most from a single tornado in the National Weather Service (NWS) Jackson forecast area in 52 years, since the February 1971 Delta tornado outbreak. The evening of March 24th changed the lives of everyone in town, leaving roughly 80% of the town completely destroyed or heavily damaged.

The overall purpose of this presentation is to illuminate the challenges and best practices that were followed in the aftermath of a violent long-track tornado which directly impacted a vulnerable community. As we worked through these challenges, we were able to establish best practices relating to damage surveys of this nature. The foremost challenge presented was lack of mobility in a heavily impacted town. There were several hundred damage points to be collected in an area with numerous physical obstacles limiting access to certain roads and areas, making it difficult to maneuver through town. In order to assess damage as it existed immediately after the tornado and before cleanup, this work needed to be completed quickly with limited on-site personnel. Beyond the intensive survey work necessary in Rolling Fork itself, the storm produced damage along a nearly 90 mile long path across Mississippi which would also need to be assessed. Furthermore, the survey team was tasked with capturing the human impact of the event from those affected through interactions with victims the day after the tornado. In order to collect crucial data points along the entire damage path in a timely fashion, additional assistance was needed. NWS Jackson dispatched three teams, one focused on the most impacted town, and two more assigned to the remainder of the tornado path in other impacted communities. Research groups were leveraged, including the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) and University of Oklahoma Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations (CIWRO) which were in the region performing research for the Propagation, Evolution, and Rotation in Linear Storms (PERiLS) Project. Multiple teams from these groups assisted in collecting additional survey data. Access to high-resolution aerial footage from the Geospatial Insurance Consortium (GIC) provided a view of the untouched devastation on the morning of March 25th and made deeper analysis of the tornado’s impacts possible along the entire path. After collecting and organizing these data in the days immediately following the tornado, a list of locations with the most significant impacts was identified for more detailed supplemental surveys within a week after the tornado. Finally, survey evidence was evaluated by experts in tornado damage and structural engineering to ensure integrity of the final survey results.