A tornado kills 23 people in Mississippi, wreaking pandemonium in the southern US state.

 Tornadoes swept over Mississippi, killing at least 23 people and left a devastation in their wake. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency stated on Twitter that search and rescue teams from local and state agencies had been mobilized to assist tornado victims. Early Saturday, the agency revealed that 23 people had perished, four were missing, and dozens had been injured. "Unfortunately, these numbers are expected to change," the agency tweeted a few minutes later. A tornado inflicted damage around 60 miles north-east of Jackson, Mississippi, according to the National Weather Service. The remote settlements of Silver City and Rolling Fork were destroyed as the tornado moved northeast at 70 mph, racing into Alabama through towns like Winona and Amory into the night. Mayor Eldridge Walker of Rolling Fork told CNN that his village was essentially destroyed. As the sun came up, video revealed houses reduced to rubble, automobiles tossed on their sides, and trees stripped of their branches. Occasionally, a home would be saved, seemingly unharmed, in the midst of the devastation. "My city has vanished. But we are resilient, and we will return strong," he remarked. As the storm approached, the National Weather Service issued a blunt warning: "TO PROTECT YOUR LIFE, TAKE COVER NOW!" 

"You are in a potentially fatal situation," it cautioned. "Those caught without shelter may perish as a result of flying debris." The mobile homes will be demolished. Homes, businesses, and cars are expected to sustain significant damage, and total destruction is probable." Cornel Knight, his wife, and their three-year-old daughter were at a relative's home in Rolling Fork when the tornado struck, according to The Associated Press. The sky was dark, he recalled, but "you could see the direction from every transformer that blew." He described the scene as "eerily quiet." Mr Knight said he stood in a doorway until the storm was less than a mile distant. Then he directed everyone in the home to seek refuge in a hallway.  He claimed that the tornado hit another relative's house across a large corn field from where he was. A wall fell in one house, trapping numerous individuals inside. Mr Knight told AP over the phone that he could see lights from emergency cars at the half collapsed house. The destruction in Rolling Fork was so extensive that numerous storm chasers — those who study severe weather and frequently post livestreams of stunning funnel clouds — appealed for search and rescue assistance. Others abandoned the pursuit to drive injured patients to hospitals. According to WAPT, the Sharkey-Issaquena Community Hospital on the west side of Rolling Fork was destroyed. According to the Vicksburg News, the Sharkey County Sheriff's Office in Rolling Fork reported gas leaks and persons stuck in rubble mounds. According to the newspaper, some law enforcement units were missing in Sharkey. According to poweroutage.us, 40,000 people in Tennessee were without power, 15,000 in Mississippi were without power, and 20,000 in Alabama were without electricity. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said on Twitter on Friday night that search and rescue teams were on the scene and that officials were dispatching additional ambulances and emergency assets. "Many in the Mississippi Delta need your prayers and God's protection tonight," according to the message. "Watch weather reports and be cautious all night, Mississippi!" Earlier that day, excessive rain in Missouri triggered flooding, which was blamed for the deaths of two passengers in a car that was washed away by high water. Another person was reported missing in another Missouri county affected by flash flooding. 

By Covenant