Mississippi tornado and storms kill at least 26

Video taken in Rolling Fork, a town of 1,700 in western Mississippi that was hit hardest, showed homes reduced to rubble, tree trunks snapped like twigs, and cars tossed aside.

The tornado stayed on the ground for about an hour and cut a path of destruction some 170 miles (274 km) long, according to preliminary information, said Nicholas Price, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi.

On Saturday afternoon, Mississippi's emergency management agency said that the death toll had risen to 25, with dozens more injured. The agency said four people who had been reported missing earlier have been located.

At least 12 deaths occurred in Rolling Fork, its mayor, Eldridge Walker, told CNN earlier in the day.

Biden expresses condolences to victims of deadly tornado

US President Joe Biden expressed on Saturday his condolences to the victims of a tornado in Mississippi, that left at least 25 people dead there and another in Alabama, levelling dozens of buildings.

Biden described the images from Mississippi as "heartbreaking" and said in a statement that he had spoken with local authorities and offered his condolences and full federal support for 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," Biden said. "We will be there as long as it takes. We will work together to deliver the support you need to recover."

At least 24 reports of tornadoes, stretching from western Mississippi into Alabama, were issued to the National Weather Service on Friday (March 24) night and into Saturday morning by storm chasers and observers.

Life lessons from loss: Veteran turned aid worker lands in Mississippi

Jarrett Brown, volunteer leader of Team Rubicon, landed in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, Saturday with a mission to help in the tornado recovery effort. At least 25 people were killed and dozens injured after thunderstorms spawning high straight-line winds and tornadoes ripped across Mississippi late on Friday, leaving hundreds without shelter, state officials said on Saturday.

Brown joined Team Rubicon, a veteran-led humanitarian organization that serves global communities before, during, and after disasters and crises.

"Really, there is not much of a difference," Brown told Reuters TV. "For me, I signed up for the army to serve this country and protect this country. Now I am responding to disasters with Team Rubicon, serving this country and protecting this country. I can't quite protect it, but I can sure help them."

Four people were missing following the storms, which left a trail of damage for more than 100 miles (161 km). The tornadoes struck Silver City, a town of 200 people in western Mississippi, as well as Rolling Fork, with a population of 1,700, which was hardest hit. Parts of the state remain under a tornado warning.

"At least twenty-three Mississippians were killed by last night's violent tornadoes," Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves wrote on Twitter. "We know that many more are injured. Search, and rescue teams are still active. The loss will be felt in these towns forever."

Reeves declared a state of emergency in the affected areas, which he said would remain in effect "until such time as this threat to public safety shall cease to exist." Reeves, who visited Silver City, said a request for a major disaster declaration had been submitted, adding that "the scale of the damage and loss is evident everywhere affected today."

'We could hear cries for help' Man digs out family trapped under tornado rubble

When Texan Michael Searcy chased a storm to Mississippi on Friday evening, he never dreamed he would end up spending hours helping to dig out a family trapped in the rubble of the tornado.

At least 25 people were killed and dozens injured after thunderstorms spawning high straight-line winds and tornados ripped across Mississippi late on Friday, leaving hundreds without shelter, state officials said on Saturday.

But when Searcy arrived in Rolling Fork, just minutes after the tornado struck, he said he and his friends quickly realized the gravity of the situation.

“We realized that this was a very, very catastrophic situation. 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," he said. "And we were just basically in small groups, digging through the rubble, trying to find and extricate people.”

Searcy said the cries for help were particularly loud from one house, where local residents who had rushed to the scene said at least eight people resided.

The family had sought refuge in the bathroom, where they were now trapped under a pile of construction rubble, Searcy said.

Working together under the light of their flashlights and vehicles, the group pulled rubble away from the pile.

“In this particular instance, this family, they did the things they were supposed to do with as little warning as they had. They got to an interior room, away from all the windows, and basically, the entire house collapsed around them. And to top it off, a van was thrown from a nearby house and the van landed on top of the rubble," he said.

After about half an hour, firefighters arrived, Searcy recalled.

Eight people were rescued from that house before he turned around and headed home, saying he was so exhausted that he didn't think he could be of much help.

Still, he is in awe at how quickly life changed for the residents of Rolling Fork, with a population of 1,700.

“Buildings and homes and businesses, things that you can look up on Google Earth that were, this was just a rural community, a tight-knit rural community, well now it’s, now it’s rubble. It’s pure destruction,” he said.

The tornado left a trail of damage for more than 100 miles (161 km), striking Rolling Fork and nearby Silver City hardest.

At least four people were still missing and parts of the state remain under tornado warnings.

The governor of Mississippi declared a state of emergency in the affected areas, which he said would remain in effect "until such time as this threat to public safety shall cease to exist."

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Deanne Criswell, who told CNN that she would be travelling to Mississippi on Sunday, pledged to process quickly an anticipated request from Mississippi for a major disaster declaration to enable full federal support now and over the long term.

FEMA was already on the ground, she said, adding that the American Red Cross was setting up shelters.

Reuters