Survivors of Southern storms thankful to see Christmas

“I laid down on the ground, and here came the tornado”, Lance Meeks, who lives in Holly Springs, Mississippi, told CNN affiliate WTVA.

Emergency declarations were issued in MS and Tennessee, the two states hardest hit by severe weather on Wednesday.

Authorities say three of the six people killed in storms that rolled across Tennessee were found in a submerged vehicle. According to AP, 3.7 million people in Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee face the biggest threat for tornadoes.

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Greg Flynn said Thursday that four people have been confirmed dead in Benton County and two were killed in Marshall County.

“Until they know for sure where those folks are, they’re going to keep looking, because we’ve had in some cases houses leveled, and they’re just not there anymore”, Flynn said.

In Linden, Tennessee, Tony Goodwin’s house was knocked down the hill.

Four deaths were reported in Benton County, two in Marshall County, one in Coahoma County and one in Tippah County.

“Many of them were burned beyond recognition, and I doubt if many family members of the dead victims would be able to identify the remains of their loved ones”, said Peter. ‘It’s what Christmas is all about’.

Chris Shupiery grabbed his Santa hat along with a chain saw as he set out to help clean up on Thursday.

To the north, a weather service team was headed to Lauderdale County, Alabama’s northwestern corner, to determine whether a tornado was to blame for damage that included downed trees and damaged homes.

Dozens of children and their families showed up Friday morning to pick up a toy or other items they might need to recover from the storm, Garbacz said. ‘Suit up, try to cheer people up and try to make them feel a little better with Christmas coming around’.

The US National Weather Service said the storms are now moving east but have diminished in strength.

Rusty Russell, 34, a friend of Remus’, told NBC News that “she is one of those people that you would never hear a bad word about her. Just a true joy to be around”. Bobby Watkins and his wife huddled beneath their old oak dining table for shelter as storm winds roaring outside their MS home tossed a barn onto their truck outside, tore the steeple off a nearby church and reduced a neighboring building to rubble. “And as the debris started hitting us, he just covered me, and within a minute it was all over and there was destruction all around us and we were fine”. MS authorities said some 40 people were injured and a 7-year-old boy was among those killed.

In the neighboring state of Arkansas, an 18-year-old female died and an 18-month-old toddler was injured on Wednesday morning as a large tree that was uprooted by high winds and heavy rain fell on their house.

Tennessee officials say storms damaged 12 or more homes in McNairy County and destroyed a post office in Wayne County, while isolated damage was reported in 11 other counties. “But the Lord did save my furniture”.