Mississippi tornado given EF-4 rating, tore deadly 59-mile path of destruction, weather officials say

As crews in Mississippi continue to dig through decimated neighborhoods in the aftermath of a deadly tornado, weather officials released preliminary information on the powerful storm early Sunday.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Jackson said the tornado that devastated the Mississippi Delta town of Rolling Fork Friday night was given an EF-4 rating, which has top wind gusts between 166 mph and 200 mph.

The tornado had ripped a 59-mile path of destruction beginning in northern Issaquena County before ending in northern Holmes County, according to the NWS. The twister lasted over an hour and had a maximum path width of three-quarters of a mile.

At least 25 people were killed and dozens of others were injured in Mississippi. One man was killed after his trailer home flipped several times in Alabama. 

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Hundreds of people have been displaced after the twister flattened entire blocks, obliterated houses, flipped over cars, ripped a steeple off a church and toppled a municipal water tower.

Crews on Sunday resumed digging through the wreckage of flattened and damaged homes, commercial buildings and municipal offices as NWS officials warned more severe weather could be hitting the region.

High winds, large hail and potential tornadoes were possible in eastern Louisiana, south-central Mississippi and south-central Alabama, officials said.

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President Biden declared a major emergency in Mississippi and made federal aid available to the state early Sunday, making federal funding available to Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey counties.

Federal funding was available during recovery efforts for temporary housing, home repairs, loans covering uninsured property losses and other individual and business programs, the White House said in a statement.

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Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell was scheduled to visit the state on Sunday to evaluate the destruction.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.