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At least five people have died after the tornado hit the town of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, officials said.
The mayor of Rolling Fork, a city of 1,800, said the damage was extensive, with damage and searches also reported in Silver City, which has about 220 people.
“Based on the damage I’ve been able to assess so far, it was a big tornado that destroyed the city of Rolling Fork,” Mayor Eldridge Walker told NBC affiliate WLBT Jackson by phone.
Sharkey County Coroner Angelia Eason said there were five weather-related deaths in Rolling Fork.
The National Weather Service warned of a confirmed tornado on the ground heading towards Rolling Fork around 8:05 pm.
A “tornado emergency” has been declared for it and other areas, a term used when there is a serious threat to life and reliable sources confirm the presence of a tornado.
Later, the weather service reported that Rolling Fork, located 60 miles northwest of Jackson, and Silver City, northeast of Rolling Fork, were hit by tornadoes.
In the Silver City area, all of the Humphreys County sheriff’s deputies responded and prison staff were tasked with helping with the dispatch and asking for help.
“We are in desperate need of search and rescue assistance,” Randy Taylor, a corrections officer with the sheriff’s office, told WLBT. “People are trapped.”
The state is sending search and rescue resources and other assistance to the area, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Malary White said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has also been alerted and is monitoring the situation, she said.
“Today, many MS Delta residents need your prayers and God’s protection,” Governor Tate Reeves said. tweeted.
He said the state has stepped up medical support and is sending ambulances to where they are needed.
Police in Amory, Mississippi, a city of about 6,600 near the Alabama border, have pleaded with people to stay home so first responders can deal with the effects of the weather.
The Birmingham weather service said a tornado hit nearby, but it’s not clear if it hit the city itself.
According to the weather service, a tornado emergency is a term used when there is a serious threat to life, catastrophic damage, and confirmation of the presence of a tornado by reliable sources. It began to be used in 1999 when a tornado headed towards Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The Mississippi tornado was driven by highly buoyant air, according to the meteorological service, and strong low-to-high-level displacement was predicted to increase the risk of major storms in the area.
Parts of eastern Mississippi and northern Alabama were in the midst of tornado hours by early Saturday, according to the weather service. Previously, these hours covered almost the entire Mississippi.
Earlier Friday in Texas around 5 a.m., two EF1 tornadoes with winds of 100 mph hit Parker County, west of Fort Worth. The weather service reported. According to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth, five people were injured.
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