A Mississippi meteorologist paused his broadcast for a moment to offer a prayer for a small community as a massive tornado headed toward the town Friday night.
Matt Laubhan, chief meteorologist at WTVA, was on air giving updates on the deadly train of tornadoes as they hit the state when he saw what appeared to be a strong tornado headed toward Amory, Mississippi.
“Oh man,” Laubhan said as he appeared shocked at what he was seeing on radar. He paused, then offered a prayer for the small town.
“So, Amory, we need to be in our tornado-safe place,” Laubhan said, seconds before announcing that a new scan had come in.
“Dear Jesus, please help them,” Laubhan said. “Amen.”
While the tornado hit the town head-on, there have been no reports of any deaths.
“All the residential buildings in the town have been searched and found clear,” Nicholaus Weaver, assistant police chief in Armory, said. “Now it’s about the cleanup — getting to the roads to make sure they’re open. It’s going to be a long process. Power lines are down on almost every street and most of them are intertwined with the trees.”
At least 25 people died in Mississippi during the storm, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. One person was killed in Alabama. Dozens of people were injured during the storm.