Washington, 25 March 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Violent storms have claimed the lives of at least 23 people and injured dozens in the southern US state of Mississippi, the state's emergency management service said on Saturday.

"Unfortunately, these numbers are expected to change," the agency wrote on Twitter.

At least one tornado swept through the state, the National Weather Service confirmed. It caused damage in the towns of Silver City and Rolling Fork, the agency said. US media also reported other tornadoes, some of which came from the neighbouring state of Alabama.

One resident told CNN of heavy destruction. "I've never seen anything like it," Brandy Showah of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, told the broadcaster. "This was a great small town - and now it's gone."

The storms in the state swept roofs off homes, ripped out trees and power lines and nearly leveled some neighbourhoods, according to media reports. Around 100,000 customers in Mississippi and the neighbouring states of Tennessee and Alabama were without power on Saturday morning, according to data from PowerOutage.us.

There was initially no information on the age of the victims. Rescue and recovery forces were in action, Mississippi's disaster management agency announced on Twitter. Earlier, the authority had issued warnings of a series of tornadoes in the region.