18 killed as tornadoes strike US

Washington: Powerful tornadoes killed at least 18 people as they flipped cars, ripped up homes and uprooted trees across south-central United States, emergency officials reported on Monday.

Rescuers worked through the night using searchlights in blacked-out areas as they sifted through mountains of rubble searching for survivors.

Forecasters warned the twisters would continue to threaten much of the region through Tuesday.

The Arkansas department of emergency management said that 15 people were killed when tornadoes touched down on Sunday, while another official said that there were 2 tornadoes.