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, BBC news reported.

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.

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

Source: Oman News Agency