Dozens die in US tornadoes

AT least 45 people were left dead after a powerful storm whipped up tornadoes in seven southern US states.

The tornadoes left a trail of destruction in North Carolina, levelling homes and businesses and knocking out power, the NBC television network reported.

Some two dozen tornadoes were reported in the southern states of Mississippi and Alabama on Friday, a day after 15 twisters struck in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, the National Weather Service said.

Violent weather also hit Arkansas and Georgia on Friday, US news reports said.

Particularly hard-hit was the North Carolina capital city of Raleigh, where dozens of homes were destroyed.

The violent weather system began late on Thursday in Oklahoma, and left a trail of death and destruction as it travelled through several states over the weekend.

Among seven people killed in Alabama were a mother and her two children, who were sheltering inside their trailer when it was ripped from its foundation and thrown about 500 feet, landing on its roof, disaster officials said.