The US state of Mississippi is currently experiencing search and rescue operations following one of the deadliest storms in recorded history.

Following the tornado on Friday night, at least 25 people have perished, and it’s possible that there are still more individuals trapped under the wreckage of lost structures.

The twister destroyed several small rural settlements by uprooting trees and electricity wires.

Strong storms are also expected in a number of southern states.

The tornado that the storm system that tore through Mississippi generated left communities all over the state with catastrophic destruction. The worst twister turned automobiles on their sides, toppled power lines, and destroyed dozens of buildings in many small villages.

One of those small towns, Rolling Fork, located in Sharkey County in western Mississippi, has essentially been wiped out, according to its mayor.

“My city is gone,” Mayor Eldridge Walker told CNN. “But we’re resilient and we’re going to come back.”

He added that lots of families in his community were “affected and hurting”, and all he could see was “devastation”.

Rolling Fork residents said windows were blown out of the back of their homes.

Local resident Brandy Showah told CNN: “I’ve never seen anything like this… This was a very great small town, and now it’s gone.”

Drone footage of Rolling Fork, shared with the BBC, shows the devastation inflicted on the town. Trucks and trees are shown piled on top of buildings, with detritus scattered over large areas.

Cornel Knight told the Associated Press that he, his wife and their three-year-old daughter were at a relative’s home in Rolling Fork and that it was “eerily quiet” just before the tornado struck. He said the sky was dark but “you could see the direction from every transformer that blew”.

He said the tornado struck another relative’s house, where a wall collapsed and trapped several people inside.

Mississippi state governor Tate Reeves has visited Silver City and Winona to meet with affected residents who had been hit by the tornado’s fury.

Sharing an update on Twitter, Mr Reeves described the situation as a “tragedy”, writing: “We are blessed with brave, capable responders and loving neighbours. Please continue to pray.”

US President Joe Biden described the images coming out of Mississippi as “heartbreaking”, adding that the federal government “will do everything we can to help”.

“We will be there as long as it takes. We will work together to deliver the support you need to recover,” he said in a statement.

It is not yet clear whether one or several tornadoes hit the area on Friday night. Although yesterday the National Weather Service warned that several tornadoes were forecast, it is possible the devastation was caused by a “skipping tornado” – a single twister that lifts from the surface only to touch down again.

Sam Emmerson from the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma said that the “extremely high-calibre” tornado lofted debris above 30,000ft (9144m).

One local weather forecaster, concerned at the strength of a tornado about to hit the town of Amory, momentarily paused his TV forecast to offer a prayer for the residents of the town.