Tornadoes in Alabama, Tennessee Cause Mass Casualties

At least four people died after strong storms and tornadoes ripped through the Midwest, central and southeast U.S. this week.

In Tennessee, one person died in Maury County after a tornado touched down in Spring Hill, some 35 miles south of Nashville.

In nearby Columbia, south of Tennessee's capital, one died and four were injured. One of the hospitalized patients was in serious condition, according to Rita Thompson, a spokeswoman for Maury Regional Health, while three had injuries that were not life-threatening.

Another person was killed in Claiborne County, in northeast Tennessee, after a tree fell on a vehicle during a storm. The death was confirmed by the county's office of emergency management.

Another death caused by a tree falling on a car during a storm was reported by North Carolina officials in Gaston County during a press conference on May 8. In total, Gaston County EMS said they responded to over 1,200 calls related to the adverse weather on Wednesday.

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There were also reports of injuries in Alabama and Michigan. In Alabama, where a tornado emergency was declared late on Wednesday night, the DeKalb County emergency management agency reported "major damage" along the state highway 75 in Henagar. AL.com reported injuries, but didn't provide further details.

Authorities in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, said that nearly 200 mobile homes had been damaged by tornadoes and 16 people were injured, though none in a life-threatening way. Also in Michigan, dozens of people were rescued on Wednesday from a FedEx depot that partially collapsed after a tornado hit the small town of Portage, south of Kalamazoo.

The storms that have battered the U.S. for the past three days brought intense rain, strong winds and even hail in some areas, pushing local authorities to issue warnings about flash flooding and deadly flying debris.

The severe weather caused damaged to homes and power lines across the states affected. On Wednesday evening, more than 40,000 customers were without power across Tennessee, according to Poweroutage.us. On Wednesday afternoon, some 28,000 customers were out of power in Michigan, according to the same website.

More than 20 million people in cities across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas were under tornado warnings issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) on Wednesday night. Millions of people living in a wider area going from Texas to North Carolina were at risk of experiencing severe weather on Wednesday night and Thursday.

The NWS' Storm Prediction Center warned of the increased risk of severe thunderstorms on Thursday across parts of central Texas into the ArkLaTex area. According to the agency, a broader corridor of severe hail and damaging-wind potential will extend from east Texas into the lower Mississippi Valley and Southeast on Thursday.