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.

In Rolling Fork, crushed cars, bricks and glass litter the streets - the town has been almost entirely wiped out.

One resident told the BBC he was lucky to survive after seeking shelter in his bath tub.

Approaching the Alive in western included  County, there is little indication of anything unusual. 

The lush farmland that surrounds it is completely untouched, the trees aren't even bent out of shape by wind. Then suddenly you see the houses that were in the tornado's path. 

The tornado hit in the middle of the night - people had been sleeping, they had not heard the alerts. For many the first indication that something terrible was happening was the noise. 

Francisco McKnight told the BBC it was a miracle that he is alive. The only warning he had was the sound, he said - he had never heard anything like the noise of the wind on Friday night and never wants to again. 

He took one look outside and then ran into his bathroom and got into the bath tub. He said that was what saved him. 

The only part of his home that is still standing are parts of two of the bathroom walls. 

The tornado lasted just five to 10 minutes he said, and he sat in the tub as the rest of his home was ripped away. For now, he staying in one of the shelters that have been set up in the area. 

He does not know what he will do next, but he says somehow he will rebuild his life.