At least 13 people were killed in Rolling Fork on Friday night when a powerful cyclone slashed through the economically depressed town of about 2,000 people. Restaurants, a lumber company and a furniture shop were flattened, as were many of the town's homes. The tornado spanned 170 miles and also reached Alabama, eventually killing a total of 26 people in the two states. But Rolling Stone was the town hit the hardest.

"It was tragic and seemingly random," said Tom Larson, a senior director at CoreLogic who specialises in natural risks." When we see [a tornado] hit a community, it's a rare and tragic time."

For years, jobs and locals have been leaving Rolling Fork - a poor community in the Mississippi River Delta surrounded by farmland. Now, the remaining residents are holed up in hotel rooms a few miles away, or in National Guard or other shelters, waiting for temporary housing provided by FEMA and other government agencies.

But with their homes and businesses gone, many locals may have run out of reasons to stay - despite promises from local officials to rebuild.

We'll be back," said Sam Matthews, 74, one of the supervisors for five districts in sparsely populated Sharkey County. His district represents part of Rollingwood Fork." It's going to be tough, but we'll be back."

Matthews, a retired chemical plant worker, survived the tornado by taking shelter with his girlfriend in the hallway of the Rolling Fork home where he had lived for 30 years. It was the only part of the four-bedroom house without windows. It was also the only place where all survived.

"It sounded like a train," Matthews said of the tornado. He estimated the strike lasted about two and a half minutes." I was thinking that at any moment something was going to fall on my head."

When the tornado eventually moved on, the rain saturated everything that hadn't been blown away. His car, like much of his home, was destroyed.

"I don't believe I was able to save anything," said Matthews, who met with his homeowners insurance adjuster on Thursday." We're not the poorest county, but we're very close. It's devastating for us here."

Sharkey County Supervisor Jessie Mason told the Wall Street Journal that he believes Rolling Fork will eventually be rebuilt.

"But will it come back like it did before? Probably not," he told the Journal." Some people will cash in and move on."

Ironically, natural disasters tend to boost the value of homes and rentals that are not damaged. This is due to a lack of available housing. Julie Patton Johnson, a real estate agent with Keller Williams, says there isn't much housing available between Greenville, MS, about 40 miles north, and Vicksburg, MS, about 45 miles south. This will make housing more expensive as displaced residents compete for a place to live while they rebuild or consider their next move.

The local economy could also benefit from the temporary influx of workers and the aid money circulating in the community. Eventually, however, these workers will continue to work and aid will slow down. Without steady work, the economy could be in worse shape than it was before the tornado.

"This community is just hanging on," CoreLogic's Larson said." Rebuilding homes won't create [permanent] jobs in the area."

But in the long run, home prices could fall further. If more people leave the community, there will be fewer potential homebuyers to keep prices strong.

"You may see a short-term increase in housing values. ... But in the long run, as people move out, demand will decrease and [property] values will go down," says Jesse Keenan, a professor of sustainable real estate at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Communities such as Rolling Fork thrived in the early 1900s, when "cotton was king," says Patton Johnson. The town even had a train station. But when farming equipment was modernised and fewer farm workers were needed, the population of places like Rolling Fork declined. There were no other strong industries, people left and no new people moved in and sought housing. This lack of demand has kept real estate prices low.

According to the latest data from Realtor.com®, the median listing price for homes in Rolling Fork was $87,250 in February, about one-fifth of the national price of $414,950.

The majority of housing in Rolling Fork is made up of mobile homes and smaller, 1,100 square foot brick farms that were built for farm workers during the boom in the local agricultural industry. Larger, 1,800-square-foot homes are also available.

Few homes in Rolling Fork are listed, says Patton Johnson, who is in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and does business in Rolling Fork. Homes that are listed usually sell to people who already live in the community because there are no good jobs to attract out-of-towners.

"They're usually private deals," Patton Johnson said of local real estate. Or they just get passed on to the next generation." A neighbour would buy it, or a cousin would buy it, or a local lawyer would know someone who would do a private deal."

Without insurance, even homeowners who want to rebuild their homes may not be able to afford it. Since many Rolling Fork residents own their homes outright, without a mortgage - as many homes may be inherited - homeowners are not required to have insurance on their property. This means they have no guarantee that they will have the funds to make repairs or build a new home.

"If they have insurance, many are likely to be underinsured," says Tulane's Keenan.

Homeowners who get insurance money to rebuild may build better homes that will be worth more than the ones they lose. This could increase the value of the property - if there are buyers.

"This is one of the poorest areas of the country," Keenan says, "and it's already declining in population." So what will keep people here? The scale of the destruction is likely to cause people to move elsewhere."

As residents move out and businesses close, the tax base will be reduced. This will mean less money for needed services and improvements to the community.

Despite the challenges, Mayor Rolling Fork, who is also the local funeral director, remains optimistic that the town will find its footing.

"It's just going to take time," Mayor Eldridge Walker told the Clarion Daily News." The city of Rolling Fork will come back bigger and better than ever."