Biden Declares Disaster in Mississippi As States Brace for Extreme Weather

• President Joe Biden has issued an emergency declaration for Mississippi, providing funding to areas affected by a deadly tornado.
• At least 25 people were killed as the massive storm swept through towns on Friday night and early Saturday.
• The National Weather Service has warned of more severe weather in the region, with large hail and damaging wind gusts possible on Sunday.

President Joe Biden has issued an emergency declaration for Mississippi, making federal funding available to the areas hardest hit by deadly tornado that tore through the Mississippi Delta.

At least 25 people were killed and dozens more were injured in Mississippi as the massive storm swept through towns on Friday night and Saturday morning.

The White House said Biden's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey counties.

FEMA Coordinating Officer John Boyle has been appointed to coordinate federal recovery operations in the affected areas.

The federal funding can be used for grants for temporary housing and home repairs, loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and businesses recover, the White House said in a statement.

Damage assessments are continuing in other areas, and more counties and additional forms of assistance "may be designated after the assessments are fully completed," the statement added.

The tornado received a preliminary EF-4 rating, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Jackson, Mississippi, said in a tweet late on Saturday.

An EF-4 tornado has top wind gusts between 166 mph and 200 mph (265 kph and 320 kph), according to the NWS.

As search and recovery crews resumed work on Sunday, the NWS has warned of more severe weather in Mississippi, Alabama, and eastern Louisiana.

Severe storms with large hail and damaging wind gusts of up to 70 mph are possible in the region on Sunday, according to the NSW's office in Jackson, Mississippi.

And the possibility of more tornadoes cannot be ruled out, the office said.

"Severe thunderstorms are likely during the afternoon and evening hours, particularly for areas along and south of the Interstate 20 corridor," the NWS said.

"Large hail may reach 2 inches in diameter, or approximately the size of hen eggs, in this area. Damaging wind gusts to 70 mph as well as tornadoes; a few of which may be strong will also be possible."

North of the I-20 corridor to near Highway 82, the NWS said the severe storm risk "diminishes quickly but there will remain a risk for hail up to quarter size, damaging wind gusts, and a tornado or two can't be ruled out.

"Storms should begin to weaken in the evening, with only lingering showers and a few rumbles of thunder after midnight."

A severe thunderstorm was located near De Soto or Quitman in Mississippi, moving east at 40 mph, at around 6 a.m. local time, the NWS said. A warning remains in effect for Clarke County until 7 a.m.

Meanwhile, thunderstorm warnings are in effect for parts of Alabama, and a tornado watch is in effect for dozens of counties until Sunday evening.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on Saturday declared a state of emergency in the Mississippi counties affected by the severe weather.

He also said he had spoken with Biden, and that the president "assured us FEMA would be there to support our response."

A spokesperson for Reeve's office told Newsweek that Reeves was traveling to parts of the state affected by the storm and posting updates to his social media accounts.

Newsweek has contacted the NWS and Reeve's office for further comment.