U.S. South raked by storms

ATLANTA, March 16 (UPI) -- Dangerous storms cut a swath through Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama, killing at least two people and causing widespread destruction.

A tornado Saturday destroyed homes and businesses in Prosperity, S.C., where a woman was seriously injured when a tree crushed her trailer, Newberry County Sheriff's Capt. Todd Johnson told CNN.

Warnings were issued by the National Weather Service for Charleston, S.C., and several other areas around the state.

"We have numerous reports of tornadoes touching down. There is a lot of damage, and we are unable to respond to all of the calls," an Aiken County Sheriff's Department dispatcher said.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and Mayor Shirley Franklin declared a state of emergency after a tornado whipped through downtown Atlanta Friday night causing an estimated $150 million in damages, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina were hammered by 94 hail storms on Saturday alone, the newspaper said.

Two deaths were reported in Georgia Saturday -- an elderly Fulton County man whose home was leveled by a tornado and a Polk County woman who was thrown from her home into a field along with her husband. The husband was among many suffering serious injuries in the the storms, the newspaper said.