Three dead as powerful tornadoes hit Louisiana and Mississippi

'These travel trailers were picked up, thrown a considerable distance and just mangled'

Destroyed trailers and vehicles are all that remain at the Sugar Hill trailer park in Louisiana (AP)

At least three people have died and more than 30 people have been injured after multiple tornadoes hit southern Louisiana and Mississippi.

Hundreds of homes, businesses and vehicles were destroyed when the storms lashed the southern states on Tuesday. A Louisiana police official described it as the “worst damage” he had seen in decades.

A state of emergency was declared in both Louisiana and Mississippi.

Two people lost their lives at the Sugar Hill trailer park in Convent, in southern Louisiana, where 90 per cent of around 160 mobile homes were damaged.

“This is some of the worst damage that I’ve seen in my 36 years with the state police,” superintendent Colonel Mike Edmonson said.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said rescue teams were searching the debris for two or three people who remained unaccounted for.

He added that it was a “minor miracle” that the death toll was not higher as most of the trailers had been occupied when the storms hit.

“These travel trailers were picked up, thrown a considerable distance and just mangled.” A Louisiana ambulance service confirmed that it had taken 31 people, most of whom were from the park, to local hospitals.

Jerome Picou, who lives near the park, described the force of the weather: “The wind was blowing a little bit, but then it stopped. Then all of a sudden all kinds of wind and rain started. It was so bad, I had to go inside the house or I would have been blown away with it.”

One person died in a mobile home in Lamar County in southern Mississippi, a coroner told NBC News. Cody Creed identified the victim as 73-year-old Harris Dale Purvis, who died as a result of blunt-force trauma.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant said the state's citizens needed to be prepared for the weather, adding it was important for everyone to "have an action plan to take shelter if severe weather strikes".

In total, there were 22 reports of tornadoes across Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) said. At least five of the storms have been confirmed.

As the storms moved towards Florida on Tuesday night, more people were injured and businesses damaged.

The Storm Prediction Center said “strong to severe thunderstorms” had been forecast from the Mid-Atlantic states “southward through the Carolinas and into Florida” on Wednesday.

Additional reporting by agencies