At least eight people have died as tornadoes and storms swept through the southern U.S. states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Mississippi.
East Texas was the worst hit, with a series of tornadoes there killing at least four people and leaving a trail of what officials called “extensive damage.”
All four deaths were in an area east of Dallas, authorities said. At least 50 other people were injured, the local fire department said.
In neighboring Arkansas, at least two people are dead and two missing, authorities said.
A 65-year-old woman was killed overnight by a falling tree in DeWitt, Arkansas, according to police. In the community of Springdale, a 10-year-old girl was swept away by floodwaters and killed.
Police also were searching for two missing children who may have been in a car swept away by floodwaters.
The Missouri Highway Patrol says a 72-year-old woman drowned despite her husband’s efforts to save her as their vehicle was swept away by rushing waters Saturday.
In Mississippi, one person was reported dead in Durant after a tree fell on a house.
Storms in the state at one point over the weekend left 23,000 people without power, the Mississippi Department of Emergency Management said.
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