A devastating tornado just ripped through Mississippi. The death toll is still rising

Late Friday night, Mississippi was slammed with a storm that created an hour-long tornado that ran for more than 100 miles.

At 6:20 a.m. local time on Saturday, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency reported 23 dead, four missing persons and dozens more injured. The agency said later that these numbers are “unfortunately ... expected to change.”

Mayor Eldridge Walker of Rolling Fork told CNN that his “city was gone.”

Damage reports from the tornado continue to roll in as the light of day gives a better visual of the destruction. Storm chaser Jordan Hall posted the first looks at the destruction Saturday morning.

Another storm chaser in the area named Edgar O’Neal was on the ground in the town of Rolling Fork during the storm and told ABC it was one of the worst he’s seen in his 12-year career. Nearly the whole town was leveled, with the only buildings standing near the farthest edges of the city’s limits.

“Houses gone. Gas stations destroyed. Trees, power lines blocking entrances everywhere. Stray animals. People wandering the streets clearly in shock. There were a lot of people on the ground helping,” O’Neal said.

Rescue crews are on the scene currently and are pulling people from the wreckage, and will continue to do so with volunteers, reported NPR.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves is expected to arrive in the county Saturday “to be with the people first hit,” per his Twitter.

The tornado landed in Rolling Fork between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. on Friday night. From there, it traveled to the northwest of Tchula and along Highway 89, ABC reported.

It hit another town called Silver City in Mississippi, where residents reported catastrophic damage like Rolling Fork, before heading towards Winona and Amory in Alabama, per The Associated Press.

Storms are expected to continue in the Southeast and Ohio Valley throughout the weekend, reported the Washington Post.