At least seven people were killed in a massive storm system whipping up severe winds and tornadoes across the US South.
Six people were killed in Alabama and one person died in Georgia as strong winds damaged buildings and tossed cars in the streets.
Authorities said the extent of the damage and a search for additional victims will come when weather conditions clear on Friday.
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Tens of thousands of customers were without power across the two states.
In Selma, an Alabama city etched in the history of the civil rights movement, the city council declared a state of emergency.
Around 40 homes were damaged or destroyed by a tornado that cut a 20-mile path across two rural communities in Selma, said Ernie Baggett, the county's emergency management director.
"This is the worst that I've seen here in this county," Baggett said.
Six of the deaths were recorded in nearby Autauga County, Alabama.
A further 12 people were injured severely enough to be taken to hospitals by emergency responders.
In Georgia, a passenger died when a tree fell on a vehicle in Jackson. The storm also knocked a freight train off its tracks.
The tornado that hit Selma cut a wide path through the downtown area, where brick buildings collapsed, oak trees were uprooted, cars were on their side and power lines were left dangling.
Plumes of thick, black smoke rose over the city from a fire burning. It wasn't immediately known whether the storm caused the blaze.
In Griffin, south of Atlanta, multiple people were trapped inside an apartment complex after trees fell on it.
A store in the city partially lost its roof and firefighters cut a man loose who had been pinned for hours under a tree that fell on his house.
About 40,000 customers were without power in Alabama. In Georgia, about 86,000 customers were without electricity after the storm system carved a path across a tier of counties just south of Atlanta.
School systems in at least six Georgia counties cancelled classes on Friday and 90,000 students stayed at home.
Nationwide, there were 33 separate tornado reports from the National Weather Service on Thursday, and Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina and North Carolina all saw tornado warnings for a time.
The tornado reports were not yet confirmed and some of them could later be classified as wind damage after assessments are done in coming days.
Three factors - a natural La Nina weather cycle, warming of the Gulf of Mexico likely related to climate change and a decades-long shift of tornadoes from the west to east - came together to make the tornado outbreak unusual and damaging.
Fierce winter storms have pounded California, leaving officials with a great amount of concern for those living in nearby areas.
23 people lost their lives and over 100 homes were destroyed, including the $15million beach mansion owned by Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker.
The stunning Santa Barbara home, which they had bought just months ago, is now a muddy mess after chaotic weather caused devastation.
Pictures show the damage to the newlywed couple's four-bed property as water clearly reached the home's garage - leaving behind a huge clean-up operation.
Crews have reportedly been tasked with clearing the damage as heavy mud and water remained outside their home - situated in an area popularwith celebrities.
Famous-faced neighbours living in the surrounding area include George Lucas and actors Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, and Mila Kunis.
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