(CNN) -- A tornado almost a mile wide tore through Mississippi on Saturday, killing at least 10 people and causing significant injuries and damage as it raked cities from the central western border with Louisiana northeastward to Alabama.





Two of the dead were children and one was a 3-month-old baby, according to Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) spokesman Jeff Rent.





The death toll is expected to rise as rescue crews reach hard-hit areas where structures have been badly damaged, said another MEMA spokesman, Greg Flynn.





Five of the dead were from Choctaw County, in the north central part of of the state, four were from Yazoo County, north of Jackson, and one was from Holmes County, also in the north central Mississippi, he said.





Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who was in Yazoo City where his home is located, called the twister "gigantic" and said that "in places [it] seemed to be to be several miles wide."





Some residents were trapped in badly damaged homes, he said.





"They're working to get to the people and rescue as many as they can," said Dan Turner, a spokesman for the governor, reporting "significant injuries" in at least three counties.





Residents from the region shared tales of tragedy and survival on Saturday evening.





Dale Thrasher was inside Yazoo City's Hillcrest Baptist Church when it was flattened by the tornado.





"I went in the sanctuary and got under the pulpit table and the whole building fell around me," he said.





His injuries: "three little scratches."





Rob and Ashley Saxton were driving to a Yazoo City restaurant owned by Rob's father -- planning to take shelter in the restaurant's walk-in freezer ahead of the tornado -- when the twister blew out the car's windows at a red light. The car was tossed across the intersection, then picked up again and flung into the restaurant.





"When the windows exploded it wasn't like anything I've ever experienced," Rob Saxton said. "It was amazing. It scared us plumb to death."





Watch Gov. Barbour's update on storm damage in Yazoo City





In all, 12 counties were reporting injuries, with some of the injured airlifted to a Level 1 trauma center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, said Jeff Rent, a MEMA spokesman.





The hospital has 27 patients with injuries sustained in the tornado, including eight adults in critical condition and six children in serious condition, according to spokesman Jim Albritton.





Many tornado victims were seeking attention at King's Daughters hospital in Yazoo City, where only one doctor was on duty Saturday night, said Jess Silvino, a nurse there.





The hospital is expecting "another one or two waves of victims" as crews are able to fully access the tornado's path, said Richard Summers, chairman of emergency medicine at the medical center.





The hospital has crews in Yazoo City and Lexington that have been "amazed and astounded" by the amount of damage they're seeing, Summers said.





The state's emergency management officials have set up a command post near U.S. 49 in Yazoo City and the state has activated a 25-person rapid response team from Hattiesburg that is capable of search and rescue operations.





my601.com: Local reports of damage, fatalities





The governor said he is activating local members of the National Guard in Yazoo City to maintain order.





President Obama has "been briefed on the tragedy in Mississippi and the situation is being followed by the White House," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said.





Barbour said that he has not yet requested emergency federal aid but that he plans to do so on Monday.





"FEMA is in contact and coordination with our state and local partners and stand ready to help if a request is made," said Brad Carroll, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agancy.





Mississippi residents reported that the path of the twister was a half-mile to a mile wide, said Mark McAllister, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Jackson.





CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras
What do survivors share? Where did five of the ten die? How many have been killed? How many were killed? Where had encounter with twister? Where were five of the dead?
tales of tragedy and survival Choctaw County, at least 10 at least 10 people Mississippi Choctaw County,
question: What do survivors share?, answer: tales of tragedy and survival | question: Where did five of the ten die?, answer: Choctaw County, | question: How many have been killed?, answer: at least 10 | question: How many were killed?, answer: at least 10 people | question: Where had encounter with twister?, answer: Mississippi | question: Where were five of the dead?, answer: Choctaw County,