At 4 a.m. on Saturday, the family decided to try to reach a nearby shelter. Ilunga carried his 6-year-old daughter on his back, while his 16-year-old daughter carried their Pomeranian puppy. Ilunga said he cried when they finally reached the shelter.
“If I stay in this car I’m going to die here with my kids,” he told the Associated Press he was thinking at the time. “It’s something I will never forget in my life."
The water system in Jackson, Mississippi, saw fluctuating pressure in freezing temperatures on Saturday, officials said.
Some neighborhoods in the Mississippi city reported low water pressure, and some residents said they had no water pressure on Christmas Eve. Officials said they believed the pressure drop was caused by leaks and water line breaks.
City spokesperson Melissa Payne said frigid temperatures were contributing to the breaks.
The disruption comes after the city lost water in late August, and ten of thousands of residents did not have running water during a 2021 cold snap.
The Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network, which has been helping receive migrants in the nation's capital since the spring, said it was prepared for the arrivals on Saturday, CNN reported.
Send an email
