Nightly News   |  April 28, 2011

Mississippi survivors: 'Our lives are ... shattered'

Astonishing images of the twisters that took the lives of at least 32 people in Smithville, Mississippi, show the ferocity of the storm system that left so much destruction scattered in its wake. NBC's Ron Mott reports.

Share This:

This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>> this is ron motte in mississippi where at least 32 people died, though the toll is feared to go higher. the pain is suffering is just as certain.

>> to see people your see every day, and now our lives are totally shattered, but you know, a lot of us are still living. that's to be thankful for.

>> mike whitehead said he's thankful no one was home.

>> we're still alive. it's just stuff. we have neighbors across who lost their lives.

>>> the town high school heavily damaged. grocery store no more. the funeral home is gone.

>> i declare a state of emergency in 34 countries and today, that is being expanded state-wide.

>> this video was caught on camera, the fury as long as the path.

>> three-quarters of a mile wide. before it hit, there were branches falling out of the sky before we knew the tornado was coming.

>> but ferocious winds and flying debris weren't the only forces in the air. hail, heavy rain, and flooding left their mark. lives and livelihoods, neighbors and neighborhoods vanished or changed in an instant.

>> we grabbed our quilt and our personal belonged and gauze into the board room and got under the board table, and when it was over with, everything was gone.

>> reporter: governor haley barbour deployed the national guard here to assist in some of the hardest hit area, and tomorrow, people will start going back home to see what if anything is left.

>> ron motte, rounding up our team of extraordinary coverage. just relentdless. that's all you can say, a staggering area.

>>> a foot note , president obama , who you saw earlier, will travel to alabama tomorrow to view the damage, meet with state and local officials, and families, later in the day, he flies to the kennedy space center in florida to watch the shuttle launch.