PEARL, Miss. (WJTV) – Mississippi leaders said agencies and volunteers are working to help communities across the state recover from a deadly tornado outbreak that occurred March 14-15.

On Saturday, Gov. Tate Reeves (R-Miss.) declared a State of Emergency for Mississippi in order to mobilize state assets and better support response and recovery efforts.

Six people were killed during Saturday’s storms. The deaths were reported in the following counties:

• Covington County – 1
• Jefferson Davis County – 2
• Walthall County – 3

According to Walthall County Emergency Management (EMA) Director Royce McKee, the three deaths in the county occurred near Darbun along Bethlehem Loop Road. He said the victims were two adults and one child.

Reeves said the three people who were reported missing on Saturday were found alive. He said there were at least 27 injuries across the state.

The preliminary data showed that at least 12 tornadoes hit the state Friday through Saturday. That number could go up.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Jackson, crews plan to conduct storm surveys on Sunday, March 16 in Issaquena, Sharkey, Washington, Humphreys, Carroll, Marion, Jefferson Davis, Covington and Smith counties.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) encouraged residents who’ve sustained damage from this severe weather event to do the following:

• File an insurance claim.
• Take photos of the damage to the home.
• Report damage to county/MEMA via the self-report tool.

If citizens need something as a result of the storms, MEMA encourages them to contact their county emergency management agency. A list of contacts can be found here.