Page 78 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2023

RIVER CITY
STRONG
Moss Point Tornado Recovery Effort in Full Force
story by Cherie Ward photos courtesy of City of Moss Point
Despite the gripping August heat, tornado recovery efforts continue in the city of Moss Point and are expected to persist throughout the remainder of the year or even longer.
A catastrophic EF2 tornado collided with the city in mid-June and Moss Point Mayor Billy Knight said the entire community was left stunned following its impact.
“It was a shock to us because you just can’t prepare for a tornado,” Mayor Knight said. “But I could not stay shocked too long. We had to immediately decide what to do the next day. And what to do the day after that. And so, we had to get busy and get to work to determine what we needed to make sure our people were safe and those who lost their homes had a place to live. It’s coming together but we still have a lot of work to do.”
The monumental tornado shredded the River City with winds as high as 135 miles an hour and smashed more than 350 homes and businesses, reduced 100-year-old moss-covered trees to sprigs, consumed essential powerlines, and peppered a massive trail of ruin and evacuations down Main Street. The
ambiance of the city that sits at the junction of the Pascagoula and Ecatawpa rivers is now filled with chainsaw riffs, debris pick-up rumbles, and a magnetic hope that circulates the town as neighbors continue to reach out to neighbors.
“We are resilient,” he said. “We are bouncing back, and
my hope and plan is that we come back better than we were. This disaster, and most disasters, have a tendency to bring people together that have never been together before. I hope this disaster will allow us to recognize that and continue the relationships that we’re building now and maybe we won’t be such strangers to each other.”
Mayor Knight knows it will take time for the city to heal with debris removal and settling displaced residents who ultimately lost everything in a matter of mere minutes. He added the human spirit never ceases to surprise him.
“To some degree, it surprised me how many people have come to volunteer,” he said. “We’ve had volunteers from Fair Hope, Alabama, as well as Hattiesburg, Tupelo, and just from all over the state to help us. That has been one of the things that’s been refreshingly surprising.”
78 | August 2023
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