A devastating tornado ravaged the small city of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, Friday night as a series of severe storms swept through the South.

“Families are affected, homes are torn up, families are without a place to live, children are hungry this morning, (with) no clothes,” the city’s mayor, Eldridge Walker, said. 

“We’re devastated,” Walker told CNN’s Isabel Rosales Saturday, as daylight broke in the storm-ravaged city. “It sounded like a freight train driving over my home and it happened so quickly.”

“As you can see, we’re in need of help,” Walker added, motioning amid the scattered debris.

The mayor said he has been contacted by state officials and legislators for assistance. Many of the public buildings in the Mississippi city were affected or destroyed. 

“The City Hall is torn up; the police department is affected as well. (There’s) quite a bit of damage and public buildings are displaced at this moment,” he said.

Walker said “everybody knows each other” in the tight-knit community.

“Everybody that’s been affected by this storm, every life that’s been lost are people that I know,” he said somberly. 

The mayor’s message for all residents: “Be strong, be patient, thank God for what we have now — we are alive.”