CNN Press Room

Gov. Barbour: And in some places of the state, just utter obliteration.

CNN’s John King talks to Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour about the devastating tornadoes that ravaged his state.  For a full transcript of the interview please visit CNN.com.

GOV. HALEY BARBOUR (R), MISSISSIPPI (via phone):  You got to be — I have to be very proud of our local authorities and our local first responders who did a great job on search and rescue in terms of security. This is a terrible, terrible outbreak. And in some places of the state, just utter obliteration. Some little towns like Smithville, it’s just unbelievable how much of the community was leveled. Yet our people are just tough and they are taking care of their own. And today we started the first step of making real progress.