Images of the year’s most extreme climate conditions around the world.
March 27: In Fargo, a leaky levee has forced some families to evacuate as the Red River continues to rise, breaking a 112-year-old record--and it's not expected to crest until Saturday. NBC’S Kevin Tibbles reports.
MAGEE, Miss. - Residents in a tornado-ravaged community took advantage of clearing skies Thursday to collect family keepsakes and begin cleaning up from a storm that left 28 injured and dozens of homes and businesses flattened across south-central Mississippi.
But Magee, a town of about 5,000 in Mississippi's pine forests, may not have much time to begin serious cleanup as another storm system with the potential for more destruction was expected late Thursday or early Friday.
While families were busy moving debris from around homes and covering exposed ceilings, the steady grinding of chain saws echoed through the community as utility crews cleared fallen trees from power lines.
'Like reliving Hurricane Katrina'
Magee Mayor Jimmy Clyde said the community was in the early stages of assessing the destruction from a pre-dawn twister that smashed through dozens of homes and apartment duplexes and damaged two churches.
"This is like reliving Hurricane Katrina all over again and that's no fun," Clyde said as office phones rang constantly with reports of storm-damaged neighborhoods and lost power and water service. "We got hit back then and we've really been hit now."
Video Mayor interviewed
March 26: TODAY’s Matt Lauer talks to Jimmy Clyde, the mayor of Magee, Miss., where a powerful tornado hit overnight. Today show
Officials believe 36 homes, a church and a business were destroyed in Simpson County, where Magee is located, and another 86 homes and structures were damaged. Across the state, 43 structures were destroyed and another 146 were damaged by at least five confirmed tornados.
Phillip Runnels spent the afternoon sifting through what was the barely recognizable remains of his mother's mobile home on Mississippi 28.
His mother, Pamela McCallum, 48, was in good condition after being airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Her boyfriend, Larry Pearson, 58, was also injured and was in fair condition.
"She's in pretty bad shape and Mr. Larry, he's in worse shape," Runnels said as he continued his inspection.
Twister arrived around 1:30 a.m.
The twister smashed through Magee around 1:30 a.m. as severe thunderstorms rumbled across the Southeast. Power blackouts affected tens of thousands of Louisiana residents and authorities reported damage to some Alabama homes. Georgia residents also braced for potentially heavy rains.
There were no immediate reports of deaths.
Mississippi's governor declared a state of emergency in Simpson County. At least nine counties reported damage Thursday. An elementary school was closed in Amite County in southern Mississippi after high winds tore off part of its roof.
The Salvation Army and other aid organizations hurried warm meals and supplies to stricken areas.
"We're getting a lot of help in here," Clyde said. "That's the thing about Mississippi. Everybody just helps each other in times like this."
Some homes leveled
Clyde said homes in some areas were "basically leveled" and damage was extensive just outside the city limits.
Jeff Giachelli, 48, said he and his wife, Cappy, were asleep when the storm hit. He called to his wife when the windows of their red-brick home shattered. His roof also had been sheared off.
"We got in the closet and it just collapsed," he said.
In a nearby neighborhood, several brick duplex apartments were smashed and cars were flipped upside down.
Stephanie Malley, 35, cried as she looked at the shell of her home, its roof gone. She awoke when flying debris hit her in the back. She grabbed her 11- and 13-year-old sons and pulled them into a bathroom.
"We stayed in the bathroom for a long time until everything started coming down," Malley said.
Her 11-year-old needed nine stitches for a cut on his leg. Nearby houses were marked with red spray paint to show that emergency workers who dug through the rubble didn't find any injured or dead residents.
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The nearby Corinth Baptist Church was so shattered that "only the doors to its sanctuary were left standing," she said.
Stepping around the rubble
Members of the 100-year-old church stepped around the red brick rubble and walked through a cemetery where tombstones were knocked to the ground. A white church van was overturned.
There were still plans to hold Sunday services in the parking lot, however.
"Our church is still here, because our church is the people, but the building is gone," said member Charlene Loyd.
Another tornado touched down Wednesday in Mississippi's Lauderdale County, heavily damaging nine homes and a business, but causing no injuries, officials said.
In Baton Rouge, La., the roof over Louisiana State University's $3.1 million indoor football practice field was damaged overnight by a passing storm. Crews there worked Thursday to restore electricity to thousands.
More on Tornadoes
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Residents in Mississippi awoke to scenes of destruction after two tornadoes touched down before sunrise near the town of Magee and in a rural area of Lauderdale County, around 90 miles east of Jackson. 

Dozens of homes and a church were demolished, and at least 20 people injured near Magee. Mayor Jimmy Clyde in an interview on NBC's ''Today'' show commented that the town was in "dire straits." 

The town is currently without power, and most roads heading into and out of town have been made impassable by debris. No deaths have been reported so far.

Eleven homes and businesses were damaged by the tornado in Lauderdale County, near the Alabama border. In Magee, the only thing left standing at the 100-year-old Corinth Baptist church are its doors. "Our church is still here, because our church is the people, but the building is gone," said a parishioner. 

Two people had to be airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. 

Mississippi Department of Transportation workers are laboring to restore power and other utilities to the affected areas. 

Due to the time of a day, many people were caught off guard and were forced to scramble to safety. One resident tearfully summarized the night's events: "I lost everything."