‘We were in the air.’ Mississippi family recounts surviving tornado that tore mobile home apart

— Streams of air whirled by Ida Cartlidge in every direction, but she couldn’t breathe. The family lived in a mobile home park behind Chuck’s Dairy Bar, a diner that had long been a nexus of local life for Rolling Fork residents. Most of the 14 people who died in Rolling Fork when the March 24 tornado hit the Mississippi Delta lived in the mobile home park, with large families crowding into one or two-bedroom units. Ida Cartlidge, who lived in a mobile home park that was destroyed by a deadly tornado, sits on a bed with her son Nolan, 1, as she talks about her experience in their room in the Rolling Fork Motel, where they are now living, in Rolling Fork, Miss., May 9, 2023. Jakavien Cartlidge, left, and Charles Jones, who were injured while inside their mobile home when it was destroyed by a deadly tornado, talk about their experience in their room in the Rolling Fork Motel, where they are now living, in Rolling Fork, Miss., Tuesday, May 9, 2023.