欧美文化:1 killed, multiple injured as storms hit U.S. South

HOUSTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and more than 10 others were injured after severe storms battered the U.S. South stretching from Texas to Florida on Wednesday, authorities said.

Across the area, more than 100 homes and buildings were damaged, and hundreds of thousands of people were left without power throughout the day.

The only death so far was reported in Scott County in central Mississippi, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said, adding that another person was injured and at least 72 homes were damaged across the state.

The victim, Shirley Wilson, 64, had several medical conditions that required her to have access to an electric oxygen machine at all times, Scott County Sheriff Mike Lee said. Her home lost power and her oxygen machine was shut down during the severe weather early on Wednesday.

So far, three tornadoes have been confirmed -- two in Louisiana and one in Texas.

In Slidell, about 30 miles outside of New Orleans, the largest city of Louisiana, a number of buildings were damaged as a tornado ripped through the town with torrential rainfall, causing at least ten people to be rushed to hospital with injuries though none were believed to be life-threatening, local police said.

The second floor roof of an apartment complex in Slidell was ripped off during the severe weather, local media reported. More than 50 people have been rescued so far in the town.

As of 4:00 pm eastern time (2000 GMT), more than 125,000 customers lost power in Louisiana while more than 50,000 others were without power in neighboring Mississippi, according to PowerOutage.us.

In eastern Texas, several people were rescued from homes and vehicles early Wednesday morning when flooding inundated Kirbyville, a town of about 2,000 residents in Jasper County, authorities said. The county issued a disaster declaration earlier on the day.

"All major roads coming into Kirbyville are shut down due to flooding," the county said in a Facebook post on Wednesday morning.

Billy Ted Smith, the Jasper County emergency management coordinator, told local media that about 20 homes in the town were flooded, and several people were rescued from vehicles. No major injuries have been reported so far.

In Katy, a Houston suburb, strong thunderstorms damaged a number of businesses and cars including a strip mall, a repair shop and a sports bar, Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen told reporters.

Wednesday's severe storm threat across the U.S. South is decreasing as evening approaches, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

"Severe storms will continue along portions of the northern and northeastern Gulf Coast this afternoon and evening, and perhaps overnight as well," the center said, adding the potential exists for a few tornadoes and damaging winds.

Meanwhile, a tornado watch remains in effect through Wednesday evening along coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and near Panama City, Florida, according to local media reports.

More than 30 million people living across the U.S. South were under a severe storm threat on Wednesday.