US 'tornado' smashes town of Rayne in Louisiana
A suspected tornado has ripped through a town in the US state of Loiusiana, killing one woman and injuring 11 other people.
More than 100 houses were damaged in the town of Rayne and a number destroyed. Hundreds of people were evacuated amid fears of gas leaks.
The devastation was caused as a violent storm moves through Louisiana and on to Mississippi and Alabama.
The 21-year-old woman who died was killed when a tree fell on her house.
One of the injured was in serious condition.
Rayne, in Acadia Parish, has a population of about 8,500.
Electricity pylons were pulled down, trees felled and a postal truck flipped over.
"There are houses off their foundations," State Police Trooper Stephen Hammonds told Associated Press.
"There are houses that have been destroyed."
Those evacuated were taken to a temporary shelter in a fire station.
The storm has caused a number of events in the New Orleans Mardi Gras to be postponed or cancelled.
Meteorologist Donald Jones told AP a tornado watch had been issued for south-eastern Louisiana, with New Orleans city under threat of further poor weather.