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ASHLAND, Miss. — “We will recover.”

Gov. Phil Bryant spoke those words as he addressed the media Thursday afternoon about the extent of the damage after Wednesday’s storms.

Seven Mississippians died, and one person is still unaccounted for. There were four deaths in Benton County, two in Marshall County and one in Tippah County.

Along with those killed, a hundred homes were destroyed and many more were damaged.

There were 14 tornadoes identified, and many of them touched down and caused damage over a 150-mile path.

“I look at the damage here, and it’s as bad as any tornado that we’ve had, and I’ve been through a lot of them,” Bryant said.

Though Bryant said there’s “no good side to this,” he said damage could have been much worse if the storms hit highly populated areas.

“This type of storm with these types of winds could have been devastating to any city in and around this area.”

Bryant said now that search and rescue has been completed, the state will enter the recovery process. Officials will determine the amount of damage and see how much federal assistance the state will qualify for.

The governor said he would ask President Barack Obama to declare a national disaster so the state can get money from FEMA to help rebuild.

In the meantime, crews will be working hard across the affected areas.

“We’ll be here on the ground as long as we’re needed,” he said.

If you would like to donate to the relief effort, the Red Cross and volunteermississippi.org are handling donations. Bryant asked the public to stay away from donating items like food or clothing, as relief workers are not equipped to handle it.