Atlanta, Jan. 22 — Storms lashing the southern United States have killed 11 people in the state of Georgia, local authorities reported Sunday.

Emergency management authorities said that after severe storms hit the southern part of the state, 11 people have been confirmed dead and 23 more injured.

Authorities, who early in the day issued tornado warnings for towns in southern Georgia, said that seven of the fatalities occurred in Cook County, while four others were reported in Brooks and Berrien Counties.

Among the dead are people who lived in a mobile home park and local authorities said that some of homes there were heavily damaged when trees or branches fell on them due to high winds.

About noon, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency in seven counties affected by the storms, including the three in which fatalities occurred, but also Atkinson, Colquitt, Thomas and Lowndes Counties, where material damage was reported.

More than 8,000 homes were without power, according to local electric companies.

On Saturday, four people died in Mississippi when a powerful tornado left a swath of destruction 40 kilometers (25 miles) long through the southern part of that state.

The southern US has been on storm alert over the weekend and that alert will extend into the evening hours on Sunday in parts of Alabama, southern Georgia and northern Florida, according to a bulletin from the National Weather Service. EFE