This is the dramatic moment a Mississippi meteorologist began to pray as he watched a mile-wide tornado smash into a small town.
Tupelo-based WTVA’s Matt Laubhan got emotional while reporting on the tornado just before 11pm on Friday, which was heading straight for Amory – 100 miles west of Birmingham.
“Here’s the thing, you all trust me too much,” he said on the newscast. “I’ll tell you where it’s going, and some of you are saying, ‘That’s where it’s going.’ The reality of this could change direction. So, Amory, we need to be in our safe place.”
The Kansas-born meteorologist barely glanced at the camera while keeping a close eye on the radar. When a “new scan” hit the news channel, Laubhan, a father of two, turned even more desperate as he leaned on the table for support.
“Oh man, North Side of Amory, that’s coming in,” he said. ‘Oh man. Dear Jesus, please help them. Amen.’
Scroll down for videos
WTVA’s Matt Laubhan got emotional while reporting just before 11pm on Friday about the tornado heading straight for Amory – 100 miles west of Birmingham
Laubhan barely looked up at the camera while keeping a close eye on the radar. When a “new scan” hit the news channel, Laubhan turned even more distressed as he leaned on the table for help. “Oh man, North Side of Amory, that’s coming in,” he said. ‘Oh man. Dear Jesus, please help them. Amen’
The Emmy-winning weatherman said he would hit Highway 6, which leads to the heart of the city, within “20 seconds.”
23 people died in the state from the tornado, including several in Monroe County — where Amory is located — including a father and his daughter sheltering at home. His wife and two other children survived but were hospitalized, according to NBC News.
Rolling Fork suffered 13 weather-related deaths.
“The damage is tremendous,” Sharkey County coroner Angelia Eason told NBC News. ‘It’s terrible.’
In Amory, a gas station was badly damaged and large wooden planks were strewn on the ground and debris littered the area.
The area also experienced severe flooding, with many fallen tree branches blocking roads and littered roadsides.
At least 11 tornadoes, including at least one monster tornado that was 1 mile wide and 130 mph, sped through the region Friday night, devastating neighborhoods, ripping off roofs from homes and tearing down power lines – leaving victims amidst debris and thousands in their wake without electricity.
Over 30 million people were under a tornado warning throughout the evening, warned to prepare for the killer storms that brought golf ball-sized hail.
A gas station was badly damaged and large wooden planks littered the ground and debris littered the area
Another gas station was completely razed to the ground in the small town
Homes were destroyed and debris littered the ground after the massive tornado passed
Authorities warned those on their way to prepare for a “life-threatening situation” and dispatched search and rescue teams to several counties in the region on Saturday morning.
A tornado confirmed by the National Weather Service (NWS) struck the towns of Silver City and Rolling Fork, the latter of which a resident described as “obliterated.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Brandy Showah told CNN. “It was a really great little town, and now it’s gone.”
So far, 13 deaths have been recorded about 60 miles northwest of Jackson in Sharkey County, home of Rolling Fork, according to coroner Angelia Easton.
Three others were killed and at least two in critical condition in Humphreys County, Emergency Management Director Royce Steed told the outlet early Saturday morning.
Three people died in a home in Carroll County, coroner Mark Stiles said, adding they appear to have been killed in a tornado.
Meanwhile, two people were killed in Monroe County in northeast Mississippi, Coroner Alan Gurley said.
The tornado left at least 100 miles of destruction and storm debris in its wake and has reportedly hit Alabama.
The storms have powered more than 100,000 homes and businesses in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee as of 5:45 a.m. ET, with more than 70,000 outages reported in Tennessee alone, according to PowerOutage.us.
Semi trucks were wrecked in Sharkey County after the storm. At least 23 people have died in the storm and several others have been injured
Wind and rain created an eerie picture outside in Thaxton as the tornado approached
NWS issued an urgent alert after the tornado made landfall, warning: “To protect your life, take cover now”.
“You are in a life-threatening situation,” it warned. “Flying debris can be fatal to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes are destroyed. Significant damage to homes, businesses and vehicles is likely and complete destruction is possible.’
Search and rescue teams were dispatched to Sharkey and Humphreys counties, Mississippi, while first responders were forced to disperse injured victims to area hospitals after significant damage was sustained at Sharkey-Issaquena Community Hospital.
Corney Knight, who lives in Mississippi, said he, his wife and their three-year-old daughter were at a relative’s house when the tornado hit, which he described as “eerily quiet.”
He added the sky was dark but “you could see the direction of every transformer that blew.”
Another home had its roof ripped off after devastating winds and lightning on Friday in Sharkey County
A home in Sharkey County is being torn apart Friday night after the tornado swept through the area
Severe damage was reported in the town of Rolling Fork, Mississippi after the tornado tore through homes and businesses
More than half a dozen emergency shelters were set up across Mississippi after the twister tore through homes and businesses.
After the twister first ripped through the small town of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, storm chaser Zachary Hill tweeted, “The damage in Rolling Fork, Mississippi is BAD. People are trapped, we need help here.”
Authorities stressed the urgency of the situation, and Hill said police asked him to break the news: “Major tornado damage, we need as many ambulances as possible and all search and rescue assistance in this city.”
Rolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker told WLBT-TV the tornado made it impossible for him to leave his home after causing extensive damage and destroying power lines to his property.
“The western part of Rolling Fork is residential and only a number of houses over there have been completely destroyed,” added former Rolling Fork Mayor Fred Miller.
“Highway 61, where most of our businesses are located, all businesses on 61 have been completely destroyed. People are trapped in a couple of the restaurants and people are now trying to get them out.’