Barbour: Rescuers to comb isolated rural areas

Trees with their tops snapped off and contents of Leslie Woods' equipment shed lay scattered about after a tornado, Saturday, April 24, 2010 in Satartia, Miss. (The Associated Press)

YAZOO CITY — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says a devastating tornado that left 10 people dead severely damaged at least 100 homes in one area alone, and there may be more in isolated rural areas that rescuers have not yet reached.

The governor said Sunday that search and rescue missions would continue throughout the day. He said at least 100 homes were damaged in Yazoo County, but said that estimate may be far too low.

Barbour, who is from Yazoo City, said none of his relatives was hurt.

The governor stood in the parking lot of a heavily damaged restaurant amid a scene of snapped trees and houses wiped from foundations. Barbour says the tornado was “enormous.”

Meteorologists said it was too soon to tell whether a single long-lasting tornado or multiple shorter ones caused the destruction.