Ferocious tornadoes and storms in the south-eastern United States have killed at least 77 people and left a trail of devastation.
Alabama appears to be worst hit, with 61 people dead. A massive tornado struck the Alabama city of Tuscaloosa, killing 15 people.
Deaths have also been reported in Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee.
US President Barack Obama has approved emergency aid for Alabama.
The southern weather systems followed fatal storms which careered through Arkansas and a swathe of the central US earlier this week.
The current storm system is forecast to hit North and South Carolina before making its way further north-east.
Governors of Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee have all declared a state of emergency as a result of the newest round of heavy winds, rains and tornadoes.
President Obama's declaration of a state of emergency for Alabama releases federal aid money.
"While we may not know the extent of the damage for days, we will continue to monitor these severe storms across the country and stand ready to continue to help the people of Alabama and all citizens affected by these storms," Mr Obama said in a statement on Wednesday night.
US media reported a tornado near Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, just outside Washington DC, on Wednesday evening.
Reduced to rubble
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox told the Associated Press news agency that at least 15 people had died there. At least 100 more were said to be hurt.
"The city experienced widespread damage from a tornado that cut a path of destruction deep into the heart of the city," he said in a statement.
A hospital in the city, which has a population of about 83,000, said its emergency room had admitted at least 100 people.
The damage from the tornado that struck near Tuscaloosa was made worse by earlier storms, which allowed the new storm system to uproot entire trees out of loose, wet mud, Michael Sznajderman, a spokesman for the Alabama Power Company, told the New York Times newspaper.
He added that at least 335,000 customers were without power in the region, with more storms on the way.
"The number of outages could be as high as what we saw with Hurricane Ivan or Hurricane Katrina," Mr Sznajderman told the newspaper.
Police officer death
Early on Wednesday, a police officer from Louisiana on a camping trip with his family in Choctaw County in Mississippi was killed by a falling tree while using his body as a shield to protect his daughter from the storm, a supervisor with the National Park Service told AP.
The nine-year-old girl escaped uninjured, although scared and drenched, and was looked after by a campsite volunteer.
Mississippi was the site of at least 10 other deaths on Wednesday, with a tree crushing one man in his mobile home and a truck driver dying after hitting a fallen tree.
Downed trees blocked roads and highways in both Mississippi and Alabama, hindering rescue efforts by emergency responders.
A women was also killed in eastern Tennessee on Wednesday when trees fell on her trailer home in Chattanooga. At least four people are reported to have been killed in Georgia.
Storm systems have pummelled states across the southern US for weeks, with severe weather being blamed for the deaths of 10 people in Arkansas and one in Mississippi earlier this week.
The tornadoes caused widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure
Alabama appears to be worst hit, with 61 people dead. A massive tornado struck the Alabama city of Tuscaloosa, killing 15 people.
Deaths have also been reported in Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee.
US President Barack Obama has approved emergency aid for Alabama.
The southern weather systems followed fatal storms which careered through Arkansas and a swathe of the central US earlier this week.
The current storm system is forecast to hit North and South Carolina before making its way further north-east.
Governors of Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee have all declared a state of emergency as a result of the newest round of heavy winds, rains and tornadoes.
President Obama's declaration of a state of emergency for Alabama releases federal aid money.
"While we may not know the extent of the damage for days, we will continue to monitor these severe storms across the country and stand ready to continue to help the people of Alabama and all citizens affected by these storms," Mr Obama said in a statement on Wednesday night.
US media reported a tornado near Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, just outside Washington DC, on Wednesday evening.
Reduced to rubble
Parts of Tuscaloosa have been levelled by a tornado
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox told the Associated Press news agency that at least 15 people had died there. At least 100 more were said to be hurt.
"The city experienced widespread damage from a tornado that cut a path of destruction deep into the heart of the city," he said in a statement.
A hospital in the city, which has a population of about 83,000, said its emergency room had admitted at least 100 people.
The damage from the tornado that struck near Tuscaloosa was made worse by earlier storms, which allowed the new storm system to uproot entire trees out of loose, wet mud, Michael Sznajderman, a spokesman for the Alabama Power Company, told the New York Times newspaper.
He added that at least 335,000 customers were without power in the region, with more storms on the way.
"The number of outages could be as high as what we saw with Hurricane Ivan or Hurricane Katrina," Mr Sznajderman told the newspaper.
Police officer death
Suspected tornadoes are being blamed for damaged roofs and downed power lines across the South
Early on Wednesday, a police officer from Louisiana on a camping trip with his family in Choctaw County in Mississippi was killed by a falling tree while using his body as a shield to protect his daughter from the storm, a supervisor with the National Park Service told AP.
The nine-year-old girl escaped uninjured, although scared and drenched, and was looked after by a campsite volunteer.
Mississippi was the site of at least 10 other deaths on Wednesday, with a tree crushing one man in his mobile home and a truck driver dying after hitting a fallen tree.
Downed trees blocked roads and highways in both Mississippi and Alabama, hindering rescue efforts by emergency responders.
A women was also killed in eastern Tennessee on Wednesday when trees fell on her trailer home in Chattanooga. At least four people are reported to have been killed in Georgia.
Storm systems have pummelled states across the southern US for weeks, with severe weather being blamed for the deaths of 10 people in Arkansas and one in Mississippi earlier this week.
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