The Latest: Woman describes losing son, father

[...] Monica McCarty says her father died in the same trailer park where she and her boyfriend live.

In the blocks surrounding the couple, power company trucks were running up and down the streets.

More than 40 firefighters from across Mississippi are assembling outside Hattiesburg police headquarters to search for the dead and injured from an early morning tornado.

Gulfport Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Henderson says the task force will do a grid search from the police headquarters to nearby William Carey University in one of the most heavily damaged areas.

Hattiesburg police Lt. Allen Murray says authorities remain concerned about downed power lines and possible gas leaks and are encouraging people to stay at home.

A college in a southern Mississippi town where a tornado struck says it's closing and students are being evacuated.

William Carey University, a Christian university with a campus in Hattiesburg, says on its Twitter feed that the campus is closed until further notice.

Photos posted on the university's Twitter feed showed vehicles in a parking lot flipped over and parts of a brick building ripped down.

Greg Flynn of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said "massive damage" was reported in a three-county area that was struck by a tornado at around 4 a.m.