'Like a Bomb Went Off.' Georgia, Mississippi Declare States of Emergency

Survivors of deadly storms that swept the South are picking up the pieces after the devastation.

Authorities say at least 20 people were killed in the outbreak of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. Georgia alone accounted for 15 of those deaths.

Search and rescue operations are underway in Georgia and Mississippi after the storms tore through the region.

"It looks like a nuclear bomb went off," one survivor said.

A mobile home park in Adel, Georgia, was razed to ground level. People say the destruction happened in a matter of minutes.

"We covered each other and we just laid there and we prayed, 'Lord please let it pass over; let it pass over," one resident recalled.

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Both Georgia and Mississippi declared states of emergency.

Dougherty County EMA Director Ron Rowe says the cleanup will take time.

"We do have crews out there clearing the roadways. The neighborhoods are damaged so severely that it is going to take a while," Rowe said.

Albany, Georgia, was also hit hard.

CBN's Operation Blessing is on the ground there offering people much-needed help.

"Behind me is the home of Miss Williams where her and her 89-year-old mom was living when this tree slammed through the roof of her house," Operation Blessing's Dan Moore said.

"Operation Blessing is working with local churches and local emergency management to assess the area and bring in volunteers and our equipment to help this community get back on their feet," Moore explained.

"You just don't know where to go and so somebody's coming to help you [and] you accept all the help you can get – to know that there are people out there that care," survivor Andrena Williams said.