Jackson, Miss. Mississippi dispatchers are receiving desperate calls for medicine or oxygen from people stuck in their homes. Troopers are fanning out in Tennessee to conduct welfare checks on those who haven’t been heard from in days. In at least one rural area, officials resorted to using trucks commonly used to fight wildfires to transport patients to hospitals.
It could be days Before power returns to the southas more low temperatures are expected by Friday in areas that are not accustomed to and not equipped for such cold. The situation is reaching breaking point for the elderly and those with medical conditions who lack electricity, and some are trapped Roads made impassable due to ice And fallen trees.
The situation in northern Mississippi was “life or death,” said Jimmy Partridge, a longtime resident of Batesville, along icy Interstate 55 in the hardest-hit northern part of the state.
Nancy Dillon, 87, spent three days without electricity on her family’s farm in the rural suburbs of Nashville, and relied on the heater for warmth. When her phone battery started to die and the backup battery pack stopped working, she said she became “annoyed.”
“If you fell, if you needed someone, there would be no way to get help,” she said, adding that power was restored Tuesday evening.
The growing misery and anxiety comes amid what Mississippi officials say is the worst in the state Winter storm In more than 30 years. About 60 warming centers have opened across the state known as one of the poorest states in the country. But for some communities, it is not enough.
Batesville Mayor Hal Ferrell said Wednesday that no one in the city had power, and with roads still slick with ice, it was too early to begin recovery efforts.
“We’re in a real mess, and the warming centers don’t exist for 7,500 people,” Ferrell said.
About 100,000 Homes and businesses Power outages remained in Mississippi early Thursday, and another 100,000 customers were without power in Tennessee, according to PowerOutage.us. More than half the population in 13 Mississippi counties did not have electricity. Many of them were in the northern part of the state but many were also in the Mississippi Delta region on the western side of the state.
At least 70 people have died across the United States in states hit by dangerous cold.
In Hardin County, Tennessee, on the Mississippi state line, Laray Sliger, the county’s emergency management director, said that while people were willing to endure a few days without power, they couldn’t last much longer without help.
“They’re cold, they don’t have electricity, they don’t have heat, they’re out of propane, they’re out of wood, they don’t have kerosene for their kerosene heaters,” she said.
There were still about 90,000 outages in Nashville, Tennessee, where downed trees and downed power lines blocked access to some areas. Brent Baker, vice president of Nashville Electric Service, said utility workers will need at least a weekend, if not longer, to finish restoring power.
Forecasters say The weather is below freezing It will persist in the eastern United States through February, with a new influx of Arctic air arriving this weekend. There is an increased chance of Heavy snow In Carolina and Virginia.
The National Weather Service said the chances of additional significant snowfall are low in places like Nashville, but weekend temperatures will reach dangerously low single digits with wind chills below zero.
Mississippi sent 135 snow plows and National Guard troops equipped with wreckers to sections of Interstates 55 and 22 crowded with abandoned vehicles in the state’s ice-hit northern region.
Cars and pickup trucks trying to navigate icy highways in single file began breaking down Tuesday. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety said no injuries were reported.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Thursday that road crews “will continue to focus on opening all lanes on I-55 and I-22.” “Drivers are encouraged to stay off any open highway in North Mississippi unless there is an emergency.”
“Once you get the goods across the interstate, you can’t branch out and get them anywhere else where they need to be,” said Partridge, who called I-55 “our lifeline.”
Partridge spent 36 agonizing hours not knowing how his parents, who are in their 70s, were doing after they lost heat, lights and cell phone service in their home about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away. Bates said he felt helpless not being able to reach them.
“Imagine the roads are closed,” he said. “You can’t reach your family members, and then you can’t reach them to see if they’re okay. … I can’t imagine someone with an infant going through this.”
Meanwhile, the University of Mississippi is extending the time it will be closed for all classes and activities and now does not plan to reopen until February 9.
Crews at Oxford’s main campus have begun removing “dangerous overhanging limbs” from the campus, focusing on initial work on the central campus and residence hall areas. Power has been restored to the entire campus, the university said in an update to students and staff Wednesday evening.
Eric Lipsett, of Benton County, Mississippi, spent the past few days collecting snow from his front yard so he could melt it to flush his home’s toilets. The area has been suffering from water and electricity outages since the end of the week.
On Wednesday morning, he lined up at a nearby gas station to take a shower, and said propane bottles, canisters and heater hookups were hard to come by.
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Martin reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Adrian Saenz in Memphis, Tennessee; Jeff Amy and Charlotte Cramon in Atlanta; Jonathan Mathis and Travis Lawler in Nashville, Tennessee; Haley Golden in Seattle; Sarah Brumfield in Washington contributed to this report.