Mississippi

Mississippi is a accompaniment amid in the southern arena of the United States, belted by Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Arkansas to the west. The accompaniment is accepted for its affluent history, assorted culture, and accustomed beauty, and has played a cogent role in abstraction the cultural, political, and bread-and-butter mural of the United States.

Mississippi is called afterwards the Mississippi River, which forms the state's western bound and is one of the best important rivers in the United States. The river played a key role in the state's aboriginal history, confined as a above barter avenue for Native American tribes and European settlers.

The accompaniment is additionally accepted for its role in the Civil Rights Movement, decidedly in the 1950s and 1960s. Mississippi was the armpit of abundant protests, marches, and demonstrations, as African Americans and their allies fought for according rights and an end to segregation.

Today, Mississippi is home to a assorted citizenry of added than 3 actor people, with a mix of burghal and rural communities, including the accompaniment basic of Jackson and the alive anchorage burghal of Gulfport. The accompaniment is accepted for its affluent comestible traditions, including body food, barbeque, and seafood, as able-bodied as its advancing music scene, which has produced such allegorical artists as B.B. King, Elvis Presley, and Robert Johnson.

Mississippi is additionally home to a cardinal of accustomed wonders, including the Mississippi River Delta, the Gulf Islands National Seashore, and the Natchez Trace Parkway, a breathtaking artery that stretches added than 400 afar through the state.

Despite its abounding attractions, Mississippi faces a cardinal of challenges, including poverty, low educational attainment, and a aerial amount of abiding bloom altitude such as blubber and diabetes. The accompaniment has fabricated advance in contempo years, however, with efforts to advance education, admission access to healthcare, and advance bread-and-butter development in underserved communities.

Overall, Mississippi is a accompaniment with a affluent and circuitous history, a active culture, and a ablaze future. Despite its challenges, the state's bodies are airy and resourceful, and abide to assignment calm to body a brighter approaching for themselves and their communities.

At least 26 people have died in Mississippi and Alabama after a tornado tore through the southern US states.

Search and rescue efforts are continuing, and the Mississippi state government has declared a state of emergency.

In Rolling Fork, crushed cars, bricks and glass litter the streets - the town has been almost entirely wiped out.

One resident told the BBC he was lucky to survive after seeking shelter in his bath tub.

Approaching the neighbourhood in western Sharkey County, there is little indication of anything unusual.

The lush farmland that surrounds it is completely untouched, the trees aren't even bent out of shape by wind.

Then, suddenly, you see the houses that were in the tornado's path.

They have been totally obliterated.

In pictures: Mississippi tornado devastates town

In this rural town of only 2,000 people, where one fifth of residents live below the poverty line, dozens of buildings have been flattened by the fury of the tornado.

Homes where family and friends had gathered less than 24 hours before, ready for the weekend, have been reduced to rubble.

Timber frames have been snapped into pieces. There are upturned washing machines, but it is impossible to identify anything that might have been a kitchen.

Amongst the rubble, there are vehicles that have been tossed around. There is the occasional children's toy and other signs of the lives that were lived here just hours earlier.

The tornado hit in the middle of the night - people had been sleeping and had not heard the alerts. For many the first indication that something terrible was happening was the noise.

Francisco McKnight told the BBC it was a miracle that he is alive. The only warning he had was the sound, he said - he had never heard anything like the noise of the wind on Friday night and never wants to again.

He took one look outside and then ran into his bathroom and got into the bath tub. He said that was what saved him.

The only part of his home that is still standing are parts of two of the bathroom walls.

The tornado lasted just five to 10 minutes he said, and he sat in the tub as the rest of his home was ripped away. For now, he is staying in one of the shelters that have been set up in the area.

He does not know what he will do next, but he says somehow he will rebuild his life.

Mississippi state governor Tate Reeves visited Silver City and Winona on Saturday to meet 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."

Mr Reeves requested an expedited disaster declaration for the region and said: "We're going to fight like hell to make sure that we get as many resources to this area as possible."

The search and rescue efforts will continue in Mississippi as more storms are predicted to hit parts of Alabama and Georgia early on Sunday and potentially bring large hail.

US President Joe Biden also offered his support for the affected region. He described the images coming out of Mississippi as "heartbreaking".

On Sunday, the White House stated that President Biden ordered federal aid to support local recovery efforts in areas affected by the tornadoes, including grants for temporary housing, home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses.