Multiple terrifying tornadoes have swept through the US state of Mississippi, killing one person and injuring nearly two dozen more, officials said.
State emergency workers were still working with counties on Monday morning to assess the damage from storms in which high temperatures and hail in some areas accompanied tornadoes.
Injured residents were seen being loaded from among the rubble onto stretchers and into ambulances
The death and injuries were reported by officials in east Mississippi’s Jasper County.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said more than 49,000 homes in central Mississippi were without power.
Mississippi governor Tate Reeves said the tornadoes struck in Jasper County and Rankin County, which borders the capital city of Jackson.
Emergency crews were doing search and rescue missions and damage assessments, deploying drones in some areas because they were impossible to reach by vehicle due to downed power lines.
Tens of thousands of people in Hinds County were still without power Monday morning after high winds pummelled the state early Friday.
Reeves said the state is opening command centres and shelters for those displaced by the severe weather.
Ochiltree General Hospital interim CEO Kelly Judice said 50 to 100 people sought medical care, including about 10 in critical condition.
Patients had minor to major trauma, ranging from “head injuries to collapsed lungs, lacerations, broken bones,” Ms Judice said.
There was no immediate word on the tornado’s size or wind speeds, weather service meteorologist Luigi Meccariello said.
Also in Texas and other southern states including Louisiana, heat advisories were in effect on Friday and were forecast into the Juneteenth holiday weekend with temperatures reaching toward 38 degrees Celsius. It was expected to feel as hot as 43 degrees Celsius.
In Perryton, Texas, Ochiltree County sheriff Terry Bouchard said three people were killed when the tornado struck on Thursday afternoon and rescue efforts continued.
Sheriff Bouchard urged residents to remain at home if possible as clean-up efforts began in the town of more than 8,000 about 115 miles north east of Amarillo, just south of the Oklahoma line.
Mr Bouchard said in a social media post that the Thursday tornado destroyed homes, mobile homes, businesses and damaged the local police station.
“We (the sheriff’s office) are probably one of the only places with power in the county, thanks to our generator,” Mr Bouchard said.
