7 dead, state of emergency declared after storms

After more than a dozen tornadoes struck Mississippi on Wednesday, killing seven and injuring more than 40 people, Gov. Phil Bryant issued a state of emergency Thursday.

"The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety are continuing their disaster operations to get resources to the most heavily affected areas," Bryant said in a news release. "Mississippians are resilient in difficult times, and we will meet this challenge head on for those that are in need.”

Two people remain missing following the storms that hit seven counties, and search-and-rescue efforts are ongoing.

Early estimates from the Storm Prediction Center put the number of tornadoes that hit the state at 14, but on Thursday the National Weather Service could only confirm one, as assessment teams were still in the field.

Meteorologist Jonathan Howell said the tornado that apparently ran in a straight line from Clarksdale, where at least 15 homes and an agricultural airport were destroyed, through Holly Springs and across the Tennessee line, can be confirmed because there were several videos of the storm recorded by citizens. The intensity can't be determined until the damage has been assessed, since the EF level is determined by the amount and nature of the damage. However, preliminary reports indicate the tornado was an EF3, according to the NWS.

Recovery, response, relief efforts begin after storms

Videos of the funnel cloud made it appear incredibly large, with at least one video shot from a business in Holly Springs showing the twister was too big to fit on the screen without panning across it. Officials issued warnings for "a large, extremely dangerous" tornado as it tracked across the state. Howell said there's no way to know how big it was until assessments are in either.

"From the videos, it does appear that it was a significant tornado," he said.

Some preliminary assessments could be completed by the end of Thursday, but others could take more than a day, Howell said.

NWS teams were dispatched to the hardest-hit areas first, Howell said, but there were "multiple locations of damage."

American Red Cross Mississippi Region has opened a shelter in the Clarksdale Civic Center and the Eddie Smith Multipurpose Center in Holly Springs, and the organization is providing tornado victims with bleach, mops and other supplies to clean up after the storms. So far, 15 Red Cross volunteers have been deployed to affected areas, Red Cross spokeswoman Anna Rogers said

As it happened: Bryant: Seven people killed in Miss.

“Our thoughts and hearts go out to these communities affected by last night’s tornadoes,” she said. "The Red Cross continues to work in close coordination with other agencies to determine how we can best help the community and the support emergency workers.”

Four people in Benton County, two people in Marshall County, including a 7-year-old boy, and one in Tippah County were killed by the tornadoes, one of which traveled over 100 miles from the Mississippi River into Tennessee, Bryant said.

Benton County Coroner Shane Ward said there is a person who is unaccounted for and searches were ongoing for him Thursday.

Counties affected by the storms include Benton, Coahoma, Marshall, Panola, Quitman, Prentiss and Tippah.

To donate to the Red Cross, visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or text REDCROSS to 90999.

Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com or (601) 961-7236. Contact Mollie Bryant at mbryant2@gannett.com or (601) 961-7251. Follow @TRex21 and @MollieEBryant on Twitter.