A storm system that passed through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama overnight spawning multiple tornadoes left at least one person dead and 19 hospitalised.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the destruction “devastating”, and said it was a “miracle” that more people were not killed immediately.
Several videos and pictures captured on Monday night showed powerful tornadoes cause massive damage to RVs, houses and schools with one video showing a truck driver having near escape after getting tossed into air.
Another video also showed a tornado approaching a Walmart in Round Rock, not far from Austin, which forced customers to flee the oncoming twister.
At least one person was injured when they were dragged across the parking lot, according to footage.
An estimated 22 million people remained at risk of coming into the path of severe storms moving toward the north east on Tuesday.
