MILLIONS of residents in the southern United States struggled Saturday to recover from fierce storms and floods that officials say have left at least 17 people dead in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas.

    With more severe weather expected across the central United States, forecasters are warning of airport delays and flooded roads as travelers return home after the Christmas holiday.

    Feeding on unseasonably warm air, storms left a trail of destruction in rural communities from Alabama to Illinois.

    More than a dozen tornadoes were reported Friday in six southern states.

    In Alabama, where Governor Robert Bentley has declared a state of emergency to deal with the heavy flooding, tornadoes uprooted trees and tore off rooftops, with one touching down in Birmingham, the state’s most populous city.

    “The damage was ... confined to approximately three square kilometers,” Birmingham Fire Department Chief Charles Gordon told CNN. “We have three houses that collapsed.”

    No one died, but Gordon said victims were rescued from the debris.

    Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant and Georgia counterpart Nathan Deal also declared states of emergency in counties affected by the weather. (SD-Agencies)