Rescue efforts are underway in Mississippi and Alabama following the deaths of 26 people, including a baby and her father, in a tornado that ripped through the two states on Friday night.

Emergency crews will have to sift through the wreckage left by the tornado, which flattened one town and destroyed homes and businesses.

Mississippi declared a state of emergency on Sunday.

President Joe Biden has directed that federal assistance be provided to the affected areas.

As FEMA personnel arrived in Mississippi to assess the damage, Senator Roger Wicker tweeted, “Today, recovery efforts across our state began in earnest.”

The tornado on Friday was classified as “violent” and given a preliminary EF-4 rating, the second-highest possible.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for large portions of Alabama and Georgia for Sunday, which will expire at 13:00 ET (18:00 BST).

Crushed cars, bricks, and glass litter the streets of Rolling Fork, which has been nearly completely destroyed.

One resident told the BBC that he was fortunate to have survived after seeking refuge in his bath tub.

There is little indication of anything unusual as one approaches the neighborhood in western Sharkey County.