Four people have been
killed and thousands left without power after tornadoes tore across the
southern United States.
Heaviest-hit was the
state of Mississippi, where the severe weather damaged hundreds of homes and
businesses.
Governor Phil Bryant has
declared an emergency in Jones and Marion counties where all four victims lost
their lives.
Several other people
have been injured by the wild weather.
Tornado damage in
southern US
Television footage
showed mangled buildings and over-turned vehicles
"We've got whole
roofs lying in the road, people trapped in houses, cars flipped over,"
Marion County Sheriff Berkley Hall said.
County coroner Norma
Williamson said two of the victims were killed in Columbia, about 30 miles west
of Hattiesburg.
One woman died in a
shopping district, while another was killed in a trailer park.
"It's chaos over
here. All the lines are down," Ms Williamson said.
The other victims, a man
and a woman, were killed in their mobile home in Jones County, where a separate
tornado struck, county emergency management spokeswoman Tammy Wells said.
According to the
governor's office, more than 7,000 people have been left without power across
the two counties.
It is unclear how many
people remain trapped in their homes.
The tornados were the
result of thunderstorms that originated over Louisiana, a meteorologist for the
national Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said.
Tornado warnings have
now been issued across parts of southern Alabama, northern Florida and southern
Georgia.
Flash flood warnings
have also been posted across the Florida panhandle and parts of Georgia after
heavy showers hit the region.
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