Massive storms kill nine

Powerful storms again swept across the midwestern United States and beyond, knocking out power to thousands of people and spawning tornadoes that levelled buildings and hurled mobile homes through the air.

At least nine deaths were blamed on the storms during the weekend and today.

One storm destroyed 50 homes and killed a man in Marengo, Indiana, a town of 800 people about 35 miles northwest of Louisville, Kentucky.

Indiana Governor Joe Kernan flew over areas hit by the storm – three days after his last such trip.

“It’s the worst thing I’ve ever been through. It was loud and noisy, windy. It was unreal,” said Marengo resident Howard Lincoln, 49.

After generating tornadoes during the weekend, the storm system continued toward the east and south today, producing heavy rain along an arc from Louisiana to Virginia.

The rain caused widespread flooding early today in hilly southern West Virginia, and one man drowned in Wyoming County, authorities said.

A seven-year-old girl was killed in Giles, Tennessee, when a wall collapsed in her home. At least 16 other people were injured, also in the south-central part of the state, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.