Deadly tornado rips through southeast Alabama, killing at least 23 people

At least 23 people are dead and several more are missing after a deadly tornado tore through southeast Alabama on Sunday.

Here's what we know

In a news conference, Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones compared the destruction to what would happen "if someone had taken a blade and just scraped the ground." Residents had only about five minutes to find cover. Multiple children, including a 6-year-old, were among those killed.

The sheriff said the tornado hit a rural area with a lot of mobile homes. It was one of a series of tornadoes that swept through Alabama, Georgia, and Florida on Sunday.

And the number of fatalities is expected to grow. On Monday morning, Lee County Coroner Bill Harris told CNN's New Day that he believed that there could be "as many as 20 [people] that may not be accounted for right now."

Rescuers are still looking through homes destroyed by the tornado to see if anyone else is unaccounted for.

This tornado was the deadliest to hit the state since 2011 when more than 200 people were killed. The National Weather Service said that the tornado that hit Lee County was an EF-3 and at least half a mile wide.

Most of the damage occurred in a narrow swath through Beauregard, Alabama, north of Highway 51.

A mayor from one of the affected towns told Fox News that teams had to use chainsaws and tractors to rescue victims from their homes.

"Words cannot describe it," he said. "Trailer homes turned upside down, the damage is unbelievable."

What did the president say?

In a tweet, President Donald Trump cautioned people near the affected areas to "be careful and safe."

The president also tweeted that he was directing FEMA to give Alabama the "A Plus treatment." He also said that Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey had been working closely with the White House and FEMA to better respond to the disaster.