Tornado kills 23 and brings devastation to Mississippi

At least 23 people have died after a tornado tore through the US state of Mississippi on March 24 night.

More people are thought to be trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings, BBC reports.

The twister caused devastation in several rural towns, where trees and power lines were torn down and tens of thousands of power outages were reported.

Several other southern states are also braced for powerful storms.

It is not yet clear whether one or several tornadoes hit the area. Although yesterday the National Weather Service warned that several tornadoes were forecast, it's possible the devastation was caused by a "skipping tornado" - a single twister that lifts from the surface only to touch down again.