Blackouts, water shortages and desperate searches for the missing confronted tornado-battered residents of the central United States last night as the death toll rose to 40 from the most violent weather in four years.
Flooding in Tennessee stranded some residents and a fresh batch of severe storms struck parts of Missouri and Arkansas, adding to the misery.
The National Weather Service said there were apparently more than 80 separate tornadoes since Sunday in the hardest-hit states of Missouri, Tennessee and Kansas. The National Storm Prediction Center said reports of funnel sightings and damage had also come in from seven other states running from the Midwest into the South.
Missouri listed 18 deaths, Kansas seven and Tennessee 15, including four people killed while driving on flood-swept roads. Power blackouts were widespread and bottled water was being shipped into areas where supplies were contaminated or pumping equipment knocked out.
Hundreds of people were being housed in temporary shelters. For many victims, there was little personal property left to recover from flattened homes.
The Red Cross said more than 5,000 homes in five Midwestern states were damaged or destroyed.
Search and rescue efforts were still under way in Missouri and Tennessee from the killer tornadoes there on Sunday night and early Monday.
Thunderstorms packing tornadoes swept into central Missouri on Tuesday, sounding warning sirens in the capital of Jefferson City, emergency management spokesman Ms Susie Stonner said.