Tornadoes Kill at Least 23 in Mississippi

Tornadoes left 23 dead in Mississippi, with dozens more injured, officials said on March 25.

In addition to the dead and injured, four people are missing in the state, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, these numbers are expected to change,” the agency said.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said that “at least” 23 Mississippians were killed by the tornadoes.

Tornadoes hit the city of Winona and inflicted damage in Silver City and Rolling Fork, all in central Mississippi, according to the National Weather Service.

“The loss will be felt in these towns forever. Please pray for God’s hand to be over all who lost family and friends,” Reeves said in a statement.

Photographs from the ground showed heavy damage, including a water tower knocked down.

Rolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker told WJTV that the storms damaged many homes, including his own.

“What we found was devastation all around us,” Walker said.

“My city is gone. But we are resilient and we are going to come back strong,” Walker added to CNN.

Cornel Knight said that he, his wife, and their 3-year-old daughter were at a relative’s home in Rolling Fork when the tornado struck. He said the sky was dark but “you could see the direction from every transformer that blew.”

He said it was “eerily quiet” as that happened. Knight said he watched from a doorway until the tornado was, he estimated, less than a mile away. Then he told everyone in the house to take cover in a hallway. He said the tornado struck another relative’s home across a wide corn field from where he was. A wall in that home collapsed and trapped several people inside.

The damage in Rolling Fork was so widespread that several storm chasers—who follow severe weather and often put up livestreams showing dramatic funnel clouds—pleaded for search and rescue help. Others abandoned the chase to drive injured people to the hospitals themselves.

Mississippi emergency officials said that crews were searching for people.

“We have numerous local and state search and rescue teams that continue to work this morning. A number of assets are on the ground to assist those that have been impacted,” the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said.

The storms struck the state on Friday night and wreaked havoc before moving into Alabama.

Barns, trees, and power lines were brought down by the weather.

As of Saturday morning, 20,247 households in Alabama were without power, in addition to 15,321 households in Mississippi, according to poweroutage.us.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.