Photos: Tornadoes Strike Central, Southern U.S. Killed 21

A debris trail, bottom, left when a tornado struck a Vilonia, Ark., neighborhood, leads from the rows of houses Monday, April 28, 2014, after a tornado struck the town late Sunday. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

At least 21 people were killed after ferocious storms and tornadoes tore down buildings and causing mass destruction in the southern United States.

Hundreds others were injured.

Most of the deaths occurred on Sunday after tornadoes hit Arkansas and other states.

Monday’s twister in Tupelo, one of several to tear across Mississippi, damaged hundreds of homes and businesses, downed power lines and tore up trees, the National Weather Service said.

After the Monday’s tornado in Tulopo, officials imposed an 8 p.m. (0100 GMT) curfew and in some residential areas were closed off as emergency crews checked downed power lines and gas leaks.

The storm system later pushed into parts of Alabama, where emergency officials said at least two people were killed at a trailer park near Athens, Alabama. 

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said at least 15 people had died statewide in the storm. 

Nine of the victims on Sunday came from the same street in Vilonia, a town with a population of about 4,100.

State authorities reported that one person was killed in Oklahoma, one in Iowa and another one in Kansas,

The National Weather Service said the threat of tornadoes will last for several days as a strong weather system interacts with a large area of unstable air across the central and southern United States.

According to AP News, The National Weather Service posted tornado watches and warnings around Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia that were in effect through Monday night.

Here are some photos of the aftermath…

(Please click the photos for larger images)

A debris trail, bottom, left when a tornado struck a Vilonia, Ark., neighborhood, leads from the rows of houses Monday, April 28, 2014, after a tornado struck the town late Sunday. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

A debris trail, bottom, left when a tornado struck a Vilonia, Ark., neighborhood, leads from the rows of houses Monday, April 28, 2014, after a tornado struck the town late Sunday. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

A home is covered by debris from a tornado in Baxter Springs, Kan., Monday, April 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Buildings are damaged along Gloucester Street after a tornado in Tupelo, Miss., Monday, April 28, 2014.T ornados flattened homes and businesses, flipped trucks over on highways and injured numerous people in Mississippi and Alabama on Monday as a massive, dangerous storm system passed over several states in the South, threatening additional twisters as well as severe thunderstorms, damaging hail and flash floods. (AP Photo/The Daily Mississippian, Thomas Graning)

A demolished car sits on North Gloster Street across from what remains of a shell gas station in Tupelo, Miss, after a tornado touched down on Monday, April 28, 2014. At least three tornados flattened homes and businesses, flipped trucks over on highways and injured an unknown number of people in Mississippi and Alabama on Monday as a massive, dangerous storm system passed over several states in the South, threatening additional twisters as well as severe thunderstorms, damaging hail and flash floods. (AP Photo/Jim Lytle)

The remains of the Purvis’ home in Vilonia, Arkansas. (Yahoo News/Jason Sickles)

Buildings are damaged along Gloucester Street after a tornado in Tupelo, Miss., Monday, April 28, 2014.T ornados flattened homes and businesses, flipped trucks over on highways and injured numerous people in Mississippi and Alabama on Monday as a massive, dangerous storm system passed over several states in the South, threatening additional twisters as well as severe thunderstorms, damaging hail and flash floods. (AP Photo/The Daily Mississippian, Thomas Graning)

Hunter Allred attempts to coax out a cat that was underneath a home along Clayton Ave in Tupelo, Miss., Monday, April 28, 2014. Allred was helping the home’s owner who had returned looking for pets after a severe weather system blew through the South. (AP Photo/The Commercial Appeal, Brad Vest)

Buildings are damaged along Gloucester Street after a tornado in Tupelo, Miss., Monday, April 28, 2014.T ornados flattened homes and businesses, flipped trucks over on highways and injured numerous people in Mississippi and Alabama on Monday as a massive, dangerous storm system passed over several states in the South, threatening additional twisters as well as severe thunderstorms, damaging hail and flash floods. (AP Photo/The Daily Mississippian, Thomas Graning)

The remains of the Purvis’ home in Vilonia, Arkansas. (Yahoo News/Jason Sickles)