State of emergency declared after tornado kills 2

At least two people, including a child, have died after tornadoes swept through the US state of Oklahoma, authorities said.

Emergency crews are assessing extensive damage to homes and businesses as a result of the high winds, hail and flooding.

Dozens of reported tornadoes have wreaked havoc in America's Midwest since Friday, with flood watches and warnings in effect on Sunday for Oklahoma and other states - including Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.

In Oklahoma, a tornado ripped through holdenvil le, a town of about 5,000 people, late on Saturday, killing two people and injuring four others, authorities said. Holdenville is roughly 80 miles from Oklahoma City.

Governor Kevin Stitt said: "My prayers are with those who lost loved ones as tornado es ripped through Oklahoma last night ."

He issued an executive order on Sunday declaring a state of emergency in 12 counties due to the fallout from the severe weather as crews worked to clear debris and assess damage from the severe storms that downed power lines.

Nearly 33,000 customers were without power in Oklahoma as of Sunday morning, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks electric utility outages. In Texas, nearly 67,000 customers were without power.

Significant destruction from the storm was reported in the southern Oklahoma community of Sulphur and well as around Marietta, where a hospital was damaged, according to the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management.

Residents in other states were also digging out from storm damage. A tornado in suburban Omaha, Nebraska, demolished homes and businesses on Saturday as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions, then slammed into an Iowa town.