Texas tornadoes: At least eleven killed as storms tear through Dallas suburbs

Hundreds of homes have been affected

Tornadoes have swept through southern US states killing at least eleven people and causing widespread damage.

The tornadoes in Texas followed days of tumultuous weather in the south-east including unusual winter tornadoes that left 18 people dead there over the Christmas holiday period.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Anthony Bain in Fort Worth said several tornadoes touched down in the Dallas area, although the full extent of damage would not be known for some hours.

The storms left homes with their roofs blown away, vehicles mangled or turned upside down, churches damaged, power lines down, natural gas lines burst, trees toppled and debris strewn across neighborhoods. The damage stretched over about a 40-mile (64-kilometer)-long area.

Joe Harn, police spokesman for Garland, said four people were killed in car accidents during the massive storm, but it's unclear if all four were in the same vehicle or how they died.

In the town of Rowlett near Garland, police spokesman Det. Cruz Hernandez said several people were injured although the exact number was known. Two families were barricaded in their homes, he said.

"As of right now, we are still in the search and rescue mode. We still have some homes that have been demolished and not everyone in the homes has been accounted for," Hernandez said.

Residents were being kept out of part of east Rowlett and heavy equipment was brought in to move debris from homes where people may be trapped inside.

The Red Cross said it was setting up shelters for people whose homes were damaged by the storm.

"I think everyone understands now the gravity of what happened," Anita Foster, spokeswoman for American Red Cross of North Texas, said on WFAA television.

In the Southeast, two more deaths linked to weather were reported Saturday in Mississippi, bringing that state's death toll from severe weather over Christmas to 10. Late Saturday, one death was reported in Alabama.

Flash flooding closed roads across Alabama and trapped motorists in rapidly rising waters.

Ranager Tyler and his son waded into flood water Christmas night and used rope to pull an 11-year-old boy out after his family's car was swept away near Pinson, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northeast of Birmingham.

"The little boy was hanging on to the back of the car," Tyler said Saturday.

The family's car was overcome with flood water and ended up in a ditch near Tyler's Pinson home. The rushing water separated the family as they got out of the car, he said. The boy was later reunited with his family.

More than 400 homes in total were affected, he said. Severe storms are forecast for Sunday night through Monday as a strong cold front pushes through. Tornadoes are possible, and residents are asked to remain alert.

The flooding is the result of heavy downpours that have thrashed the southeastern U.S. since Wednesday, bringing record rainfalls in some areas. Four inches (102 millimeters) of rain walloped the city of Mobile, Alabama, on Wednesday — smashing the previous record of 2.2 inches (56 millimeters) set in 1990.