Four people died due to tornado in South America

At least four people have died as dozens of tornadoes hit the southern United States, causing widespread property damage and leaving thousands without power.

Nearly 40 tornadoes struck Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia and Arkansas on Saturday and Sunday.

Two of these deaths occurred in Mississippi, while one each occurred in Texas and North Carolina.

According to National Weather Service (NWS) data, about 80 people are killed each year by tornadoes in the US.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said one of the two deaths in the state was in Adams County, about 92 miles (148 km) west of the city of Jackson.

The second death occurred in Lowndes County, on the state border with Alabama. At least ten people were injured across the state.

As of 10:30 a.m. local time (15:30 GMT) on Monday, about 32,000 people in Mississippi were still without power, according to the website PowerOutage.us, down from about 100,000 after the weekend storm.

In Texas, a tornado watch on December 28 received a rare “particularly dangerous situation” designation from the Storm Prediction Center – a rare occurrence that occurs for about 7% of tornadoes each year.

Although there are no official criteria for issuing similar warnings, they are typically issued when forecasters believe that multiple “strong” or “violent” tornadoes are imminent in a given area.

A 48-year-old woman died in Brazoria County, Texas, near the state’s Gulf Coast, according to the local sheriff’s office. Four people also suffered non-serious injuries.

In Montgomery County, Texas, north of Houston, about 300 buildings were damaged – including 30 completely destroyed – after a tornado struck the area with winds of 145 mph (233 km/h).

The fourth death occurred in North Carolina, where the state highway patrol said a 70-year-old man named Matthew Ronald Teeple was killed by a falling tree while driving.

According to NWS statistics, about 800 tornadoes occur in an average year across the US, resulting in 80 deaths and 1,500 injuries.

However, this year, 1,762 tornadoes were recorded in the US between January and November – the most since 2011.