Tragedy in Mississippi. At least 23 people were killed during the passage of a tornado and thunderstorms Friday night, said Saturday, March 25 the governor of this southern state of the United States. "We know that many more (people) are injured. Search and rescue teams are still active," Tate Reeves also said on Twitter.

The Mississippi State Emergency Department (MSEMA) also noted on Twitter: "Unfortunately, these numbers are expected to change" upwards. "The state has deployed relief assets to Sharkey and Humphreys counties," about 110 kilometers north of the capital Jackson, MSEMA's Malary White told ABC.

"We have put the medical support system into action – increasing the number of ambulances and other emergency devices to (assist) those affected," Tate Reeves tweeted.

Television footage showed razed homes and a lot of debris littering roads as emergency services tried to reach people in need of help.

"My city no longer exists"

"My city no longer exists," the mayor of Rolling Fork, a city of some 2,000 people in west-central Mississippi, told CNN.

According to ABC, at least 13 people died in Sharkey County, as well as three in neighboring Carroll County and two others in Monroe County. Separately, a highway officer in Silver City, Humphreys County, reported one person dead to ABC.

"In terms of the extent of the damage, we won't have that until daybreak," White said. "Our priority at this point, especially for emergency services, is (to ensure) the safety of lives and locate people to verify that they are safe," she told CBS News' local affiliate WJTV.

Tornado warnings had been issued Friday in several counties in the state but Saturday at 2:48 am (7:48 GMT), the Jackson branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) had indicated that "tornado monitoring was lifted throughout the affected area".

"New showers and other thunderstorms are expected in our area," he tweeted, stressing that "they are not expected to be strong according to the forecast."

With AFP

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