ROLLING FORK, Miss. — Tornadoes left a trail of destruction across rural Mississippi and Alabama overnight Friday, killing at least 26 people, razing buildings and plunging thousands of homes into darkness.
President Joe Biden called the devastation Saturday "heartbreaking" as search and rescue efforts continued and survivor accounts emerged, including restaurant employees who huddled in a refrigerator to survive in the Mississippi town Rolling Fork.
In addition to the dead, dozens of people were injured and four were missing in the wake of a spate of tornadoes, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency confirmed Saturday morning. Crews also began damage assessments Saturday, the agency said. The death toll may climb.
Much of the worst impacts spawned from a storm that carved a devastating path northeastward across Mississippi and Alabama, according to AccuWeather. The rural towns of Silver City and Rolling Fork, about 60 miles northeast of Jackson, Mississippi, bore the brunt of the damage from a tornado.
"It is almost complete devastation," said Royce Steed, emergency manager in Humphreys County, where Silver City is located. "This little old town...is more or less wiped off the map."
At least 25 people have died in four counties, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said in a news release Saturday. The agency said dozens more are injured.
Four people who were reported missing overnight have been accounted for as search and rescue efforts continue, according to the agency.
"Multiple state agencies and partners are working together to help in the response and recovery efforts," the agency said in a statement.