Dozens Die As Tornado Swarms Hit The US

At least 37 people have been killed in the US after dozens of tornadoes tore through several states.

They include eighteen people killed in Kentucky, another 14 in neighbouring Indiana, at least three in Ohio and one in Alabama.

The fatalities occurred as powerful storms stretched from the US Gulf Coast to the northern Great Lakes, leaving buildings flattened and at least one small town wrecked.

It is thought up to 90 tornadoes struck across seven states of the country, putting up to 10 million people at risk.

Widespread damage was reported across Indiana and Clark County Sheriff's Department Major Chuck Adams said the town of Marysville was "completely gone".

"The reports on the telephone were that Marysville is gone. I can't confirm any damage right there yet. We're just trying to concentrate on the more populated areas and we've been inundated with calls," he said.

A baby was found in a field in Salem, Indiana, about 10 miles (16km) north of New Pekin, where her family lives, said Melissa Richardson, spokeswoman at St Vincent Salem Hospital, where the little girl was initially taken.

The child is now in a critical condition at a hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, and authorities were still trying to figure out how she ended up alone in the field. Ms Richardson said she had so far been unable to identify the child or her family.

Dozens of houses were also damaged in Alabama and Tennessee, two days after storms killed 13 people in the Midwest region and the South.

Thousands of schoolchildren in several states were sent home as a precaution and several Kentucky universities were closed.

Emergency management officials said 40 homes had been destroyed and 100 others seriously damaged by tornadoes powering through two northern Alabama counties.

The states of Illinois and Missouri were also hit after swarms of twisters touched down.

The Alabama Emergency Management Agency said dozens of homes and businesses suffered damage in the southern state.

At least 20 homes were also badly damaged in the Chattanooga area of Tennessee after strong winds and hail lashed the region.

In the Tennessee town of Cleveland, Blaine Lawson and his wife Billie were watching the weather when the power went out and winds ripped the roof off their home.

"It just hit all at once," 76-year-old Blaine said.

"Didn't have no warning really. The roof, insulation and everything started coming down on us. It just happened so fast that I didn't know what to do. I was going to head to the closet but there was just no way. It just got us."

The mayor of Huntsville said students had taken shelter in hallways as severe weather hit in the morning. Several houses were levelled and five people were taken to hospital.

The extent of their injuries is not yet known and emergency crews are still surveying the damage.

A maximum security prison about 10 miles from Huntsville was also damaged by an apparent tornado but none of its 2,100 inmates escaped.

The roof was damaged on two large prison dormitories holding around 250 men and part of the perimeter fence was knocked down.

Authorities were confident that storms in Limestone and Madison were tornadoes but it will be up to the National Weather Service to confirm the twisters.

For residents and emergency services across Alabama, tornado precautions and clean-up operations are a familiar routine. Some 250 people were killed in twisters last April.