A tornado has hit Mississippi, with the death toll now at 26. Source: Justin Hobson, Wikimedia Commons
A powerful tornado has wreaked havoc in Mississippi, killing at least 25 people locally and one more in Alabama.
Nicholas Price, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi, said the tornado tore across the area for at least an hour, leaving behind a 274 kilometre long path of destruction.
The small town of Rolling Fork in Western Mississippi, with a population of 1900, was hit the hardest, as trees were snapped in two and homes were reduced to rubble.
Michael Searcy, a storm chaser, saw the tornado approach Rolling Fork, and spent hours trying to help rescue people.
“As soon as we would go from one vehicle to the next vehicle or from building to building, we could hear screams and we could hear cries for help,” Searcy said.
“And we were just basically in small groups, digging through the rubble, trying to find and extricate people.”
In a rural Mississippi community called Silver City, with a population of about 300, people hid away as well as they could inside their homes, including inside bath tubs.
Governor Tate Reeves visited Silver City on Saturday and declared a state of emergency.
“The scale of the damage and loss is evident everywhere affected today,” Reeves wrote on Twitter. “Homes, businesses … entire communities.”
After the storm, rescuers in Alabama pulled a man out from the mud after his trailer was overturned. But according to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, the man died from his injuries. This seems to have been the only reported death from the tornado in Alabama as of Saturday evening, local time.
US President Joe Biden said in a statement that he spoke to Mr Reeves and offered his condolences and full federal support to help with the recovery.
“To those impacted by these devastating storms, and to the first responders and emergency personnel working to help their fellow Americans, we will do everything we can to help,” Mr Biden said.
“We will be there as long as it takes. We will work together to deliver the support you need to recover.”
