In the predawn darkness of a tornado-ravaged Mississippi trailer park, a faint meow pierced the air, catching the attention of storm chaser Ashton Lemley. Just hours earlier, at least three tornadoes had swept through the southern half of Mississippi, flattening homes and injuring a dozen people in the rural community of Bogue Chitto.
Lemley, navigating through the debris, was determined to locate the distressed animal. After several minutes, the meowing stopped, raising fears for the kitten's survival. However, five minutes later, the sound returned. "I said, ‘Oh, he’s still alive!’" Lemley recounted to The Associated Press on Thursday. He quickly began digging through insulation from a collapsed wall until his flashlight beam revealed the kitten, wet, terrified, and huddled between two wooden posts.
Lemley captured the moment on video: "Oh my goodness, I found him!" he says to the camera. "Are you OK? Come here – it’s OK. … We’ll get you cleaned up, baby. Don’t you worry."
Lemley held the kitten in his arms for a few minutes before handing it off to the commander of the United Cajun Navy, a volunteer disaster-response group, who dried it off and took it to safety. Lemley marveled that it didn’t appear to be injured.
"I’ve been in these situations so many times," said Lemley, who has been chasing storms since 2010. "I don’t try to get overly emotional. But it is very heartbreaking to see any type of animal or human go through something like that."
Lemley says there’s already a lot of interest from people who want to adopt the kitten if its owners are not located. Some, he said, want to name it Tornado. It won’t be coming home with him, though: Lemley is allergic to cats.
A dozen people were hurt at a trailer park in the small community of Bogue Chitto, in rural Lincoln County, said Scott Simmons, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Most of the two dozen homes were flattened into heaps of splintered boards and twisted metal. People picked through the debris Thursday morning under cloudy skies as a chain saw buzzed in the background.
National Weather Service meteorologist Daniel Lamb said at least three tornadoes caused significant damage. Investigators plan to survey other areas to determine if more touched down.
"Pray for Mississippi," Gov. Tate Reeves posted online, saying the state Emergency Management Agency was coordinating response efforts. Debris from the storms closed Interstate 55 and many other roads in Lincoln County. The governor said a volunteer rescue group was providing a 50-person shelter and supplies to the county, which reported at least 200 damaged homes. Lamar County to the southeast reported about 275 homes damaged, according to the Emergency Management Agency.
