At least 23 people have died after a tornado tore through the US state of Mississippi on Friday night
The mayor of Rolling Fork says the town has been devastated by the storm
More people are thought to be trapped under rubble
The twister caused devastation in several rural towns, where trees and power lines were torn down
Hail the size of golf balls and heavy rainfall were reported in several areas of the state
Other southern states are also braced for powerful storms. At around 07:00 CDT (12:00 GMT) on Friday, Mississippi residents were warned the state would experience severe weather beginning that afternoon and continuing through the night.
Tornadoes, hail, and damaging winds were said to be likely, with the most likely time period for strong tornadoes set to be late afternoon into evening.
People were also warned that a “line of strong to severe thunderstorms will be capable of producing very intense rain rates” resulting in instances of flash flooding.
Overnight, the tornado hit several areas in western Mississippi. Roofs were lifted off houses and trees and power lines were torn down.
The tornado also brought hail the size of golf balls.
By morning, local residents said some towns – like the county seat of Sharkey County, Rolling Fork – were “gone”.
Almost two dozen people are known to have died and several more might be trapped under the rubble.
As Mississippi woke up to the devastation on Saturday morning, the National Weather Service said the clean up was already under way – but warned people to stay far away from damaged power lines and not enter damaged buildings or walk through floodwaters. Residents of Rolling Fork, a small town town in western Mississippi, said a tornado blew the windows out of the back of their homes. The damage in the area is reported to be particularly bad.
Local resident Brandy Showah told CNN: “I’ve never seen anything like this… This was a very great small town, and now it’s gone.”
Cornel Knight told the Associated Press that he, his wife and their three-year-old daughter were at a relative’s home in Rolling Fork and that it was “eerily quiet” just before the tornado struck. He said the sky was dark but “you could see the direction from every transformer that blew”.
He said the tornado struck another relative’s house, where a wall collapsed and trapped several people inside.
Other people were trapped in piles of rubble, while some law enforcement units are unaccounted for in the county of Sharkey.Local mayor gives account of his experience
The mayor of Rolling Fork, Eldridge Walker, told CNN about the state of his town this morning over images of scattered debris and gutted homes.
“Devastation. As I look from left to right, it’s all I see. Lots of families affected and hurting… This community is in a situation we never expected.”
“My city is gone,” he said. “But we’re resilient and we’re going to come back.”
Asked about the search effort, Mr Walker said “several victims” were trapped in their homes and taken to hospital and rescue efforts were still under way.
Mr Walker also said he and his family “watched the news and by the time we heard the warning and took cover in our bathroom the storm had hit”.
He also asked people to “stay still and wait for first responders”. “Houses that are torn up can be replaced but we can’t replace a life,” he said.