At least 23 killed after tornadoes ripped through Mississippi
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Multiple tornadoes have ripped through Mississippi leaving a trail of destruction in its wake - killing at least 23 people, while 4 people remain missing.
At least 11 tornadoes tracking at 80mph, with one stretching at least one mile wide, were recorded Friday night.
They obliterated neighborhoods, ripped roofs off homes and downed power lines - leaving victims trapped under rubble and thousands without power.
Over 30 million people were under a tornado warning through the evening, and were being warned to brace for the killer storms which brought golf ball-sized hail.
Authorities warned those in its path to brace for a 'life threatening situation' and on Saturday morning deployed search-and-rescue teams to several county's in the region.
A tornado confirmed by the National Weather Service (NWS) struck the towns of Silver City and Rolling Fork, the latter of which was described as 'obliterated' by one resident.
'I've never seen anything like this,' Brandy Showah told CNN. 'This was a very great small town, and now it's gone.'
The Governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, tweeted early Saturday: 'At least twenty three Mississippians were killed by last night's violent tornadoes.'
'We know that many more are injured. Search and rescue teams are still active.
'The loss will be felt in these towns forever. Please pray for God's hand to be over all who lost family and friends.'
So far, recorded deaths include 13 roughly 60 miles northwest of Jackson in Sharkey County, home to Rolling Fork, according to county coroner Angelia Easton.
Three others were killed and at least two in a critical condition in Humphreys County, emergency management director Royce Steed told the outlet early Saturday morning.
In Carroll County, three people died in one home, coroner Mark Stiles said adding that it appears they were killed in a tornado.
Meanwhile, two people were killed in Monroe County in northeastern Mississippi, coroner Alan Gurley said.
The tornado has left a trail of destruction and storm debris at least 100 miles long, and is reportedly already battering Alabama.
The storms knocked out power for more than 100,000 homes and businesses across Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee as of 5.45 am ET, with more than 70,000 outages reported in Tennessee alone, according to PowerOutage.us.
NWS issued an urgent alert after the tornado touched down, cautioning: 'To protect your life, take cover now'.
'You are in a life-threatening situation,' it warned. 'Flying debris may be deadly to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be destroyed. Considerable damage to homes, businesses, and vehicles is likely and complete destruction is possible.'
Search and rescue teams have been deployed to Sharkey and Humphreys counties in Mississippi, while first responders were forced to disperse injured victims to surrounding hospitals after the Sharkey-Issaquena Community Hospital saw significant damage.... (Read more)
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