Three people die as storms sweep through eastern US

Washington, DC [US], May 9 : At least three people were killed on Wednesday after strong storms swept through the North Carolina, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee regions of the US, causing intense rain, winds and hail in some areas, The New York Times reported.
People experienced severe weather a day after widespread storms tore through the Midwest and tornadoes swept through Michigan.
One person was killed after a tree fell on a vehicle in Claiborne County in northeast Tennessee as storms swept through the area around 10 am (local time), according to the county's office of emergency management.
According to officials in North Carolina, there was one storm-related death in Gaston County. One person died in Maury County, Tennessee, on Wednesday after a "large and destructive" tornado was spotted near Springhill and the storm hit near Columbia, according to The New York Times report.
Rita Thompson, a spokeswoman for Maury Regional Health, a hospital in Columbia, confirmed the death. Pat Woodmansee, the assistant director of the county's emergency management agency, said that the storm left a trail of debris and people trapped in damaged homes.
Rita Thompson said people were taken to hospital for treatment of injuries, that were not life-threatening and a fourth was in serious condition
As storms continued to sweep through the Midwest for third day and moved into the Eastern US on Wednesday evening, the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings in cities like Alabama, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee.
The Weather Service issued a tornado warning in Williamson County in southern Illinois after a "confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado" was spotted on Wednesday afternoon. On Wednesday evening, over 40,000 customers were without power in Tennessee, The New York Times reported, citing Poweroutage.us.
A tornado was confirmed in Huntsville, Alabama, on Wednesday night. According to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Centre, about 21 million people were under either an enhanced or moderate risk of severe weather -- the third and fourth levels of intensity, out of five on Wednesday, The New York Times reported.
On Wednesday, the National Weather Service office in Nashville in a post on X stated, "Don't let your guard down!" It added, "We're in the 'lull' right now before the main line tonight. Our environment is very unstable so any storm that develops ahead of the line this afternoon could turn strong to severe very fast."
More than 20 million people in Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana and Texas were under a tornado watch on Wednesday night. The most intense storms were expected to hit a corridor in cities of Nashville and Clarksville, Tennessee.
Meanwhile, about 17 million people from Texas to North Carolina, including the cities of Memphis, St.Louis and Little Rock, face an enhanced risk of severe weather.
Flash flood warnings were issued for parts of Tennessee and Missouri after heavy rains. According to forecasters, flooding had already been reported in cities like Cole Camp and Lincoln in Missouri and could spread to small creeks, streams, highways and other low-lying areas.
Over the past two days, nearly 50 tornadoes were reported from Oklahoma to Ohio, as severe storms wrought damage throughout the Midwest. The storms brought strong winds and caused power outages.
According to officials, tornadoes damaged nearly 200 mobile homes and winds were so strong that they lifted some homes away in Kalamazoo, in southern Michigan. The authorities said at least 16 people were injured, The New York Times reported.
About 50 workers were rescued from a FedEx depot centre in Kalamazoo County as they were trapped inside after a tornado wrecked the building. The authorities in Oklahoma said a tornado caused widespread destruction on Monday, killing one person in Barnsdall, and damaging up to 40 homes in the small town.