**Twelve people are now known to have died in violent storms that tore through several southern US states at the weekend, officials said.**Two people died in Alabama and another 10 lost their lives in Mississippi, after tornadoes generated winds of about 150mph (240km/h).
Hundreds of people across the storm-hit region have been left homeless or without power.
Rescue teams have been searching isolated rural areas for survivors.
The storms left a path of destruction at least 50 miles long (80km), with tornadoes also reported in Louisiana and Arkansas, National Weather Service meteorologists said.
In all, eight states were placed on tornado watch.
‘Utter obliteration’
National Guard soldiers have been patrolling Yazoo City in Mississippi in Humvees and a Blackhawk helicopter.
Dozens of volunteer state troopers and other law enforcement officers have been arriving from other parts of the state to help with the relief operation.
Yazoo, which has a population of 28,000, was hit particularly badly by the storm.
State governor Haley Barbour, who grew up locally, talked of “utter obliteration”.
Four deaths were reported in Yazoo County, with five victims, including three children, killed in Choctaw County, and one in Holmes County.
In neighbouring Alabama, the authorities attributed two deaths to the violent weather. More than 30 people were reported injured.
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