US President Joe Biden proclaimed a state of emergency in Mississippi after a tornado ripped across the area, killing at least 26 people.
The designation will make federal funds accessible to Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, and Sharkey counties, which were the hardest hit by Friday’s catastrophic hurricane.
Rescue personnel are still digging through the debris of destroyed buildings, with dozens injured and hundreds displaced.
When it ripped through numerous towns on its hour-long route, the huge storm left a trail of devastation in one of the poorest areas of the United States.
Winds pulled a spire off a church and toppled a municipal water tower, flattening entire streets and obliterating buildings.
Even as the recovery process begins, the risk of additional severe weather, like as high winds, huge hailstones, and the threat of more tornadoes, persists in eastern Louisiana, south central Mississippi, and south central Alabama.
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The tornado reached winds of up to 200 mph, according to National Weather Service statistics.
“How anybody survived is unknown by me,” said Rodney Porter, who lives 20 miles (32km) south of Rolling Fork.
When the storm hit on Friday night, he immediately drove there to assist in any way he could.
He arrived to find “total devastation” and said he smelled gas and heard people screaming for help in the dark.
“Houses are gone, houses stacked on top of houses with vehicles on top of that,” he said.
Annette Body drove to the hard-hit town of Silver City from nearby Belozi to survey the damage.
She said she was feeling “blessed” because her own home was not destroyed, but other people she knows lost everything.
“Cried last night, cried this morning,” she said, looking around at flattened homes.
“They said you need to take cover, but it happened so fast a lot of people didn’t even get a chance to take cover.”
Storm survivors walked around on Saturday, many dazed and in shock, as they broke through thickly clustered debris and fallen trees with chainsaws, searching for anyone trapped.