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Horrifying footage caught the moment a deadly tornado tore through a school in Mississippi.
Officials have said at least 26 people have died in Mississippi and Alabama after a devastating tornado ploughed through the states on Friday night. You can see the moment it hit a school here:
Buildings were left destroyed by the tornado, with new footage showing the damage caused in one school in Amory.
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The video, which was shared by the school’s IT director Sam Strickland, shows the hallway of Amory High School just before 11pm on the night the tornado struck.
Posting the clip, Strickland wrote: “I went to the High School today and pulled our camera server. Here’s a clip of when the tornado hit.”
In the footage, parts of the ceiling crumble and it isn’t long before the camera is dislodged and falls to the ground.
Thankfully, it is believed nobody was in the building at the time.
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The National Weather Service issued an urgent warning to residents as the storm rolled in, telling people: “To protect your life, TAKE COVER NOW.”
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves issued a state of emergency and vowed to help rebuild as he viewed the damage in the region.
US President Joe Biden has since announced a federal emergency for the areas impacted by the tornado.
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The announcement will mean emergency funding is available for Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey counties in Mississippi.
The White House said: “Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.”
Federal Emergency Management Agency told CNN that a team has been dispatched to help with the immediate needs created by the tornados as well as making plans for the longer-term.
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FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said: “We want to make sure that the state has everything that they need as we work to make sure that no additional lives are lost.”
According to the National Weather Service, early information based on estimates from storm reports and radar data indicate the tornado was on the ground for more than an hour and moved at speeds of at least 170 miles (274km).
Lance Perrilloux, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office in Jackson, Mississippi, said: “That’s rare – very, very rare.”
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Perrilloux said preliminary findings showed the tornado began its path of destruction just south-west of Rolling Fork before continuing north-east towards the rural communities of Midnight and Silver City and onwards toward Tchula, Black Hawk and Winona.
Claire Reid