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| Sun, 26th Mar 2023 9:46:00 |
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Mississippi: Rescue efforts begin after tornado destruction |
Rescue efforts are under way in Mississippi and Alabama after a tornado tore through the two states on Friday night killing 26 people, including a baby and her father.
Emergency services will have to dig through the debris left behind by the tornado, which flattened one town and obliterated homes and businesses.
A state of emergency was declared in Mississippi on Sunday.
President Joe Biden ordered federal assistance for the affected areas.
As Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) staff arrived in Mississippi to tour the damage, senator Roger Wicker tweeted: "Today recovery efforts across our state began in earnest".
Friday's tornado has been classified as "violent" and given a preliminary EF-4 rating - the second-highest rating possible.
Why was the Mississippi tornado so destructive?
In pictures: Devastation in Rolling Fork
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for large sections of both Alabama and Georgia for Sunday, ending at 13:00 ET (18:00 BST).
In Rolling Fork, crushed cars, bricks and glass litter the streets - the town has been almost entirely wiped out.
One resident told the BBC he was lucky to survive after seeking shelter in his bath tub.
Approaching the neighbourhood in western Sharkey County, there is little indication of anything unusual.
The lush farmland that surrounds it is completely untouched, the trees aren't even bent out of shape by wind.
Then, suddenly, you see the houses that were in the tornado's path.
They have been totally obliterated.
In this rural town of only 2,000 people, where one fifth of residents live below the poverty line, dozens of buildings have been flattened by the fury of the tornado.
Homes where family and friends had gathered less than 24 hours before, ready for the weekend, have been reduced to rubble.
Timber frames have been snapped into pieces. There are upturned washing machines, but it is impossible to identify anything that might have been a kitchen.
Amongst the rubble, there are vehicles that have been tossed around. There is the occasional children's toy and other signs of the lives that were lived here just hours earlier.
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