A tornado in Mississippi kills 24 people and wreaks havoc on the state.

At least 24 people have died in the US state of Mississippi due to a tornado, with more thought to be trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings. The twister caused devastation in several rural towns, tearing down trees and power lines. Rolling Fork, located in Sharkey County in western Mississippi, has essentially been wiped out, according to its mayor. Residents said windows were blown out of the back of their homes, and Cornel Knight told the Associated Press that it was "eerily quiet" just before the tornado struck. Several southern states are also braced for powerful storms.

Mississippi state governor Tate Reeves is on his way to Sharkey County to meet with affected residents first hit by the tornado's fury. US President Joe Biden described the images coming out of Mississippi as "heartbreaking" and pledged to help. It is not yet clear whether one or several tornadoes hit the area on Friday night, but it is possible the devastation was caused by a "skipping tornado" - a single twister that lifts from the surface only to touch down again. Sam Emmerson from the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma said that the "extremely high-calibre" tornado lofted debris above 30,000ft (9144m). One local weather forecaster paused his TV forecast to offer a prayer for the residents of the town.