A deadly tornado has reduced buildings to rubble and knocked out power as it ripped through several southern states in the US.
At least 23 people have been killed as severe storms battered Mississippi, Alabama and Texas on Friday.
Eldridge Walker, the mayor of Rolling Fork in Mississippi, has told US media his “city is gone” as people woke up to the reality they had lost their homes and businesses.
As one emergency management agency warns the number of deaths is expected to rise, we take a look at some of the most striking images from the devastation.
A pick-up truck rests on top of a restaurant cooler at Chuck’s Dairy Bar in Rolling Fork. Pic AP
A resident looks through the piles of debris, insulation, and home furnishings to see if anything is salvageable at a mobile home park in Rolling Fork. Pic: AP
Tracy and Tim Hardin, owners of Chuck’s Dairy Bar, survey the destruction to their business. Pic: AP
The damaged site of Enviva Pellets, a maker of sustainable wod pellets, in Amory, Mississippi. Pic: AP
Trees lie on a house in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, a day after the tornado caused widespread damage in the town. Pic: AP
Wyatt Stanford, 10, of Amory, Mississippi makes his way to the next house to help remove trees and other debris. Pic: AP
The tornado ripped the roof off of a large building in Montebello, California. Pic: AP
Emergency rescuers climb through a tornado-demolished mobile home park looking for bodies that might be buried in the piles of debris in Rolling Fork. Pic: AP
The aftermath of the tornado in Rolling Fork. Pic: AP
A shipping container rests by a tornado-stripped tree in Rolling Fork. Pic: AP
Melanie Childs sits on a bucket and holds her two children as they view what’s left of her grandfather’s home in Armory. Pic: AP
A resident surveys the damage done to her car in Amory, Mississippi. Pic: AP
An American flag flies on the roof of what was a hardware store in Rolling Fork. Pic: AP
Debris is seen after the tornado struck Montebello in California. Pic; AP
A sheriff’s deputy gives the all-clear signal after searching for survivors. Pic: AP