NUMBER OF tornadoes have struck across the central United States, with one in Indiana killing a man and injuring his wife while two people died in Arkansas after a tree fell on to a house as severe weather rumbled through a number of states.

The tornado that struck the home on Sunday evening was part of a storm system that pushed through Martin County, Indiana, WXIN-TV reported.

A tornado also touched down on Sunday afternoon in Johnson County, south of Indianapolis, damaging at least 75 homes, authorities said.

Sheriff’s officials in Arkansas said two people were killed and a third injured on Sunday night in the central community of Carlisle when a tree fell on to a home, KTHV-TV reported.

The Indiana man was killed when the tornado hit the home in an isolated wooded area. His wife was flown by helicopter to hospital, said Cameron Wolf, Martin County’s emergency management director.

The newer log cabin-style house was destroyed as a storm that also had large hail and other strong winds raked the area about 85 miles south west of Indianapolis.

A tornado also touched down on Sunday afternoon in Johnson County, south of Indianapolis, causing damage in communities including Greenwood and Bargersville, officials said.

Michael Pruitt, deputy fire chief of Bargersville, told the Indianapolis Star a search and rescue operation did not find any deaths or injuries after the fire department responded to a report of a structure collapse resulting from the Johnson County tornado, which he said was on the ground for about 15 minutes. 

Bargersville Fire Chief Erik Funkhouser said in a news conference that at least 75 homes suffered moderate to severe damage in a three-mile area.

“Obviously, this is a very dangerous scene for the area,” he said. “We have power lines that are down all throughout that three-mile area.”

Mr Pruitt said affected homes could be without electricity for days.

Survey teams are set to visit Martin, Johnson, Daviess and Monroe counties on Monday to assess damage from the severe storms and tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service office in Indianapolis.

In Memphis, Tennessee, a utility company reported about 120,000 homes and business were left without power on Sunday as storms carrying strong winds knocked down trees and caused other damage.

Detroit-based DTE Energy reported that about 75,700 of its customers in south-eastern Michigan were without power. Jackson-based Consumers Energy reported outages in south-western Michigan.

Michigan Indiana Power reported on Sunday evening that about 4,000 of its customers in south-western Michigan and northern Indiana lost electricity due to the storms. More than 2,000 outages were reported in Benton Harbour, Michigan.