There was no calm before the storm — it hit quickly and with aggression.
But in the calm after Monday’s storm, linemen and power company employees were hard at work repairing lines and restoring electricity along roads littered with trees and snapped power poles Wednesday morning — nearly 48 hours after numerous systems spun off tornadoes across Mississippi.
As that aspect of the recovery continued, a number of relief efforts have sprung up in the area in the aftermath of the storm.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency received reports of damage from 14 counties across the state from 14 confirmed tornadoes. MEMA officials said further National Weather Service investigation could raise the number of confirmed tornadoes.
MEMA reported nearly 8,000 power outages across Mississippi. The state deployed disaster relief resources including tarpaulins, drones and debris removal teams to areas of the state impacted by the storms. Amite County received 50 tarps as part of the aid package.
The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado that tore through Amite County was an EF-2 storm that cut a half-mile-wide path for 20 miles with peak winds of 135 mph.
It struck at about 2:30 p.m. northwest of Liberty and marched north-northeast toward Smithdale before dissipating just after 3 p.m., leaving three people injured and untold property damage.
On Wednesday, crews were out working to restore power. Magnolia Electric Power Association estimated 60 to 70 power poles were destroyed in the storm, causing sprawling outages along its path. Many of those outages were focused near the Auburn community.
Highway 98 saw a caravan of bucket trucks line the road Wednesday morning as crews worked to replace miles of power line.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality sent emergency response teams to Bogue Chitto Road in Lincoln County, another hard-hit area, to oversee the repair and replacement of power lines. Emergency Response Division Chief Cody Fisher said one of the agency’s responders is local to Bogue Chitto and was working with the power companies to ensure any oil spilled from fallen transformers was properly cleaned up and disposed of.
“As cleanup continues, our waste division will be working with counties and municipalities to ensure that storm related debris is disposed of properly,” Fisher said.
Nearby, linemen said they have their work cut out for them.
Workers with Kinko Powerline of Hammond, La., toiled alongside Magnolia Electric linemen to install power lines and copper wire to transformers along the route.
“We’re working on picking up all the downed line and replacing it with new ones,” Magnolia Electric Power lineman James Warner said. “The storm pretty well tore the poles up.”
Warner said the path of the storm narrowly missed his home just north of Bogue Chitto Road.
“I can’t believe it,” he said. “We were blessed.”
Warner was one of many linemen working along the Lincoln County thoroughfare, running new power lines atop the poles still intact.
One house along the road had a tree straight down the middle, with wood and bricks strewn nearby. The home had power lines and other cables entangled within the rubble. Nearby, a shed appeared to be missing one of its walls.
Sheet metal, presumably the roofs of homes, sheds and other structures, could be seen scattered throughout the woods as live power lines buzzed on the ground.
As the restoration continued, several coordinated relief efforts cropped up throughout the region.
Pike County Baptist Association Missions Director Steve Clark said the Mississippi Baptist Association in Amite County and associations ing Marion, Wilkinson and Walthall counties are helping coordinate relief efforts with emergency management officials. Pike association members, meanwhile, are assisting in the clearing of roads and other recovery tasks. Clark said the Pike County association remains on standby to help if requested.
A disaster relief effort that sprang up in Amite County raised $6,745 of a $7,000 goal in less than two days, Sara Hemphill, who is helping with the effort, reported on her Facebook page.
And gofundme pages were opened for other residents, including Jack Whittington, the pastor of Pleasant Valley Church in Smithdale, and his wife Elizabeth.
Brandi Williford, who set up the page, said their home is beyond repair and they have no insurance.
“I wanted to help raise money to get them back on their feet and get personal belongings they may need before they start the long road ahead to rebuild a their home,” she wrote. “They have always put so much into the small church with such giving hearts. Jack would give a lending hand or shirt off his back to a stranger.”
Despite losing his home, Whittington was counting his blessings for his and his wife’s safety.
“Thank the Lord we made it out,” he said Wednesday. “We lost our house. The walls got blown out. The Lord just blessed us we made it out safe in time for Christmas.
“I appreciate the efforts by Brandi and other people in the community,” Whittington said.
The page for Whittington had raised $380 toward a $10,000 goal as of Wednesday.
McComb Salvation Army Corps Director Brenda Kates said the organization is working with emergency management directors in affected counties to provide recovery support. She said they are in the process of assessing needs and will work with officials to provide assistance.
American Red Cross of Mississippi Communications Director Tamica Jeuitt said that organization is working with local partners to assess their needs.
Jeuitt said five disaster shelters were opened statewide but only two remained open as of Wednesday afternoon.
She said Red Cross is working to assist in feeding those impacted by the severe weather and to assess damage throughout the region.
Jeuitt said anyone interested in lending assistance can do so in a number of ways, including donating to the Red Cross disaster relief fund by calling 1-800-REDCROSS, visiting redcross.org or texting “REDCROSS” to 90999.
She encouraged anybody interested in volunteering to register to do so and said spreading accurate information can make a big difference.
She said the organization’s social media pages are a great way to stay informed.
“We’re always looking to train volunteers,” she said. “But people can also help by sharing information.”
