Photos: Tornadoes Strike Central, Southern U.S. Killed 21

A debris trail, bottom, left when a tornado struck a Vilonia, Ark., neighborhood, leads from the rows of houses Monday, April 28, 2014, after a tornado struck the town late Sunday. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

At least 21 people were killed after ferocious storms and tornadoes tore down buildings and causing mass destruction in the southern United States.

Hundreds others were injured.

Most of the deaths occurred on Sunday after tornadoes hit Arkansas and other states.

Monday’s twister in Tupelo, one of several to tear across Mississippi, damaged hundreds of homes and businesses, downed power lines and tore up trees, the National Weather Service said.

After the Monday’s tornado in Tulopo, officials imposed an 8 p.m. (0100 GMT) curfew and in some residential areas were closed off as emergency crews checked downed power lines and gas leaks.

The storm system later pushed into parts of Alabama, where emergency officials said at least two people were killed at a trailer park near Athens, Alabama. 

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said at least 15 people had died statewide in the storm. 

Nine of the victims on Sunday came from the same street in Vilonia, a town with a population of about 4,100.

State authorities reported that one person was killed in Oklahoma, one in Iowa and another one in Kansas,

The National Weather Service said the threat of tornadoes will last for several days as a strong weather system interacts with a large area of unstable air across the central and southern United States.

According to AP News, The National Weather Service posted tornado watches and warnings around Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia that were in effect through Monday night.

Here are some photos of the aftermath…

Twisted trees and power lines remain in a residential block near Military Avenue following the tornado in Baxter Springs, Kan., Sunday, April 27, 2014. (AP Photo/The Joplin Globe, Roger Nomer )

A debris trail, bottom, left when a tornado struck a Vilonia, Ark., neighborhood, leads from the rows of houses Monday, April 28, 2014, after a tornado struck the town late Sunday. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

A debris trail, bottom, left when a tornado struck a Vilonia, Ark., neighborhood, leads from the rows of houses Monday, April 28, 2014, after a tornado struck the town late Sunday. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

A debris trail, bottom, left when a tornado struck a Vilonia, Ark., neighborhood, leads from the rows of houses Monday, April 28, 2014, after a tornado struck the town late Sunday. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

A debris trail, bottom, left when a tornado struck a Vilonia, Ark., neighborhood, leads from the rows of houses Monday, April 28, 2014, after a tornado struck the town late Sunday. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

Piles of cars and remnants of home are scattered along Cemetery Street in Vilonia, Ark., Monday, April 28, 2014, after a tornado struck the town late Sunday. Vilonia was hit hard Sunday after a tornado system ripped through several states in the central U.S. and left more than a dozen dead in a violent start to this year’s storm season, officials said. (AP Photo/Karen E. Segrave)

A home is covered by debris from a tornado in Baxter Springs, Kan., Monday, April 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

A debris trail, bottom, left when a tornado struck a Vilonia, Ark., neighborhood, leads from the rows of houses Monday, April 28, 2014, after a tornado struck the town late Sunday. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

Travel trailers and motor homes are piled on top of each other at Mayflower RV in Mayflower, Ark., April 27, 2014. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

A home is covered by debris from a tornado in Baxter Springs, Kan., Monday, April 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

A debris trail, bottom, left when a tornado struck a Vilonia, Ark., neighborhood, leads from the rows of houses Monday, April 28, 2014, after a tornado struck the town late Sunday. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

Buildings are damaged along Gloucester Street after a tornado in Tupelo, Miss., Monday, April 28, 2014.T ornados flattened homes and businesses, flipped trucks over on highways and injured numerous people in Mississippi and Alabama on Monday as a massive, dangerous storm system passed over several states in the South, threatening additional twisters as well as severe thunderstorms, damaging hail and flash floods. (AP Photo/The Daily Mississippian, Thomas Graning)

A demolished car sits on North Gloster Street across from what remains of a shell gas station in Tupelo, Miss, after a tornado touched down on Monday, April 28, 2014. At least three tornados flattened homes and businesses, flipped trucks over on highways and injured an unknown number of people in Mississippi and Alabama on Monday as a massive, dangerous storm system passed over several states in the South, threatening additional twisters as well as severe thunderstorms, damaging hail and flash floods. (AP Photo/Jim Lytle)

The remains of the Purvis’ home in Vilonia, Arkansas. (Yahoo News/Jason Sickles)

Buildings are damaged along Gloucester Street after a tornado in Tupelo, Miss., Monday, April 28, 2014.T ornados flattened homes and businesses, flipped trucks over on highways and injured numerous people in Mississippi and Alabama on Monday as a massive, dangerous storm system passed over several states in the South, threatening additional twisters as well as severe thunderstorms, damaging hail and flash floods. (AP Photo/The Daily Mississippian, Thomas Graning)

Buildings are damaged along Gloucester Street after a tornado in Tupelo, Miss., Monday, April 28, 2014.T ornados flattened homes and businesses, flipped trucks over on highways and injured numerous people in Mississippi and Alabama on Monday as a massive, dangerous storm system passed over several states in the South, threatening additional twisters as well as severe thunderstorms, damaging hail and flash floods. (AP Photo/The Daily Mississippian, Thomas Graning)

The remains of the Purvis’ home in Vilonia, Arkansas. (Yahoo News/Jason Sickles)

Hunter Allred attempts to coax out a cat that was underneath a home along Clayton Ave in Tupelo, Miss., Monday, April 28, 2014. Allred was helping the home’s owner who had returned looking for pets after a severe weather system blew through the South. (AP Photo/The Commercial Appeal, Brad Vest)

In Photos: Severe Storms Hit Midwest, Deep South Killed 3

Tornadoes and very strong winds peel the roofs from homes in the Deep South and heaped snow and ice on the Midwest.

Golf-ball and baseball-sized hail pelted parts of Georgia and the Carolinas late Thursday and early Friday.

Three people were killed.

Please click the photos for larger images:

Hazelwood fire fighters climb over a fence into the backyard of a home Lynn Haven Lane in Hazelwood that was damaged a storm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. Butch Dye, a hydrometeorological technician with the National Weather Service in St. Louis, Mo., said severe weather struck the suburb of Hazelwood. “We won’t be able to confirm whether it was a tornado until teams get out there tomorrow,” Dye said. (AP Photo/David Carson, Post-Dispatch)

Cleanup after tornado touches down near St. Louis

Cleanup after tornado touches down near St. Louis

A pavilion at Imerman Memorial Park on Midland Road in Saginaw Township is flooded after the Tittabawassee River overflowed its banks on Thursday, April 11, 2013. Heavy rains over the past few days have saturated the ground. More rain is expected. (AP Photo/The Saginaw News, ) ALL LOCAL TV OUT; LOCAL TV INTERNET OUT

Cleanup after tornado touches down near St. Louis

Lightning strikes across the skies of Patterson, Arkansas April 10, 2013. Many of the storms in Tornado Alley that were forecast to be severe this week were taken out by a cold front from Canada. Picture taken April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Gene Blevins (UNITED STATES – Tags: ENVIRONMENT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Family members and friends search through Ralph Sciple’s home on Highway 397 in Kemper County, Miss., after a tornado ripped through the area Thursday, April 11, 2013. The Sciples were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. A strong spring storm that socked the Midwest with ice and heavy, wet snow made its way east, raking the South with tornadoes Thursday, with three deaths blamed on the rough weather and thousands of people without power. (AP Photo/The Meridan Star, Paula Merritt)

Larry Gammill, left, and Tim Parks survey tornado damage at Botkinburg Foursquare Church in Botkinburg, Ark., Thursday, April 11, 2013, after a severe storm struck the building late Wednesday. The National Weather Service is surveying areas Thursday to determine whether tornadoes or strong winds caused damage. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

Emergency personnel carry away the body of a person killed by a tornado Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Kemper County, Miss. The victim was working inside a structure that is part of the Mississppi Power Lignite Coal Plant when the tornado ripped through the community. A strong spring storm that socked the Midwest with ice and heavy, wet snow made its way east, raking the South with tornadoes Thursday, with three deaths blamed on the rough weather and thousands of people without power. (AP Photo/The Meridan Star, Paula Merritt)

Cleanup after tornado touches down near St. Louis

Cleanup after tornado touches down near St. Louis

Kristin Little, manager of the Ferguson Optical shop in Hazelwood, talks with a friend on the phone as she describes the damage caused to her shop by a storm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. Butch Dye, a hydrometeorological technician with the National Weather Service in St. Louis, Mo., said severe weather struck the suburb of Hazelwood. “We won’t be able to confirm whether it was a tornado until teams get out there tomorrow,” Dye said. (AP Photo/David Carson, Post-Dispatch)

Aimee Greenwalt (left) and Amanda Parish survey the damage in Hazelwood caused by a storm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. Butch Dye, a hydrometeorological technician with the National Weather Service in St. Louis, Mo., said severe weather struck the suburb of Hazelwood. “We won’t be able to confirm whether it was a tornado until teams get out there tomorrow,” Dye said. (AP Photo/David Carson, Post-Dispatch)

Cleanup after tornado touches down near St. Louis

Huntsville Fire and Rescue crews remove a downed tree blocking traffic on Dell Avenue as strong storms passed through Huntsville, Ala. Thursday, April 11, 2013. A strong spring storm that socked the Midwest with ice and heavy, wet snow made its way east, raking the South with tornadoes Thursday, with three deaths blamed on the rough weather and thousands of people without power. (AP Photo/AL.com, Eric Schultz)

Lightning strikes downtown Huntsville, Ala. as strong storms move into Madison County Thursday afternoon, April 11, 2013. A strong spring storm that socked the Midwest with ice and heavy, wet snow made its way east, raking the South with tornadoes Thursday, with three deaths blamed on the rough weather and thousands of people without power. (AP Photo/AL.com, Bob Gathany)

Two men work to remove a truck in Botkinburg, Ark., Thursday, April 11, 2013, that was overturned when a severe storm struck the area late Wednesday. The National Weather Service is surveying areas Thursday to determine whether tornadoes or strong winds caused damage. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston

A tree that landed on the roof of Susan Strebeck’s home in Hazelwood after a storm blew through the area causing extensive damage on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. Butch Dye, a hydrometeorological technician with the National Weather Service in St. Louis, Mo., said severe weather struck the suburb of Hazelwood. “We won’t be able to confirm whether it was a tornado until teams get out there tomorrow,” Dye said. (AP Photo/David Carson, Post-Dispatch)

Hazelwood fire fighters gather outside a home in Hazelwood that was damaged by a storm as the make a plan to enter and retrieve medicine for a resident who escaped the home on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. Butch Dye, a hydrometeorological technician with the National Weather Service in St. Louis, Mo., said severe weather struck the suburb of Hazelwood. “We won’t be able to confirm whether it was a tornado until teams get out there tomorrow,” Dye said. (AP Photo/David Carson, Post-Dispatch)

The street light at Howdershell Road and Lynn Haven Lane lies damaged following high winds from a strong spring storm in Hazelwood late Wednesday evening, April 10, 2013. Butch Dye, a hydrometeorological technician with the National Weather Service in St. Louis, Mo., said severe weather struck the suburb of Hazelwood. “We won’t be able to confirm whether it was a tornado until teams get out there tomorrow,” Dye said. (AP Photo/Erik M. Lunsford, Post-Dispatch)

Shuqualak, Miss. residents begin cleanup of debris from homes hit by a tornado Thursday, April 11, 2013. A tornado plowed through rural sections of eastern Mississippi Thursday, killing at least one person and causing widespread damage and power outages, officials said. That and other damaging storms in the state were part of the same front that had dumped heavy, wet snow and ice in the Midwest and spawned tornadoes elsewhere. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Photos: Tornadoes Tore Through Southern Mississippi And Alabama

A tornado is pictured near Hattiesburg, Mississippi in this still image from a video shot by Rynal Grant February 10, 2013. The tornado, which touched down at approximately 1730 local time, was reported to have injured three people and caused damage to the nearby campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. REUTERS/Rynal Grant/Handout

A swarm of tornadoes tore through several counties in southern Mississippi and Alabama on Sunday damaging lots of buildings, vehicles and trees.

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency spokesman Greg Flynn said it appears a single tornado caused the damage in Forrest, Marion and Lamar counties.

Hundreds of homes are damaged in Forrest County.

In Hattiesburg, the twister moved along one of the city’s main streets and damaged buildings at the governor’s alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi.

Forrest County Sheriff Billy McGee says 10 or 15 people were injured by the tornado that slammed Hattiesburg and other parts of the county.

This is a disaster.

(Please click the photos for larger images)

A tornado is pictured near Hattiesburg, Mississippi in this handout image from Jordan Holliman taken February 10, 2013. The tornado, which touched down at approximately 1730 local time, was reported to have injured three people and caused damage to the nearby campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. REUTERS/Jordan Holliman/Handout

A business at 5133 Lincoln Road Extension in Hattiesburg, Miss., is damaged after an apparent tornado Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. Major damage was reported in Hattiesburg and Petal, including on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. (AP Photo/Chuck Cook)

An overturned car lies in front of the University of Southern Mississippi campus in Hattiesburg, Miss., after a possible tornado Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Chuck Cook)

A women observes the damage to a closed and unoccupied dormitory on the University of Southern Mississippi campus caused by an apparent tornado in Hattiesburg, Miss., Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. (A