LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) Strong winds and flooding led to the deaths of at least three people in the South on Thursday as powerful thunderstorms moved through several states. <br />
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In Arkansas, two people were killed as strong winds toppled trees. Craighead County Coroner Toby Emerson said one man died in Jonesboro when a tree fell on his home, while Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokesman Brandon Morris said another person was killed when a tree fell on a van in in the town of Black Rock. <br />
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In southern Tennessee, a 72-year-old man died Thursday morning when his vehicle was swept downstream as he apparently tried to cross a flooded roadway, according to the Highway Patrol. <br />
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WSMV-TV said a search was underway in Hickman County, Tennessee, for a 6- or 7-year-old child missing after a car became stuck in water Thursday afternoon. <br />
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Alabama and Georgia were also in the path of the storms. <br />
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About 30,000 people were without power in Shelby County, Tennessee, on Thursday afternoon. There were reports of downed trees and power lines, blocking some roads. <br />
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The storms damaged numerous homes and businesses in Arkansas, and strong winds blew over a freight train on a Union Pacific line, blocking U.S. 49 in the northeast part of the state. <br />
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``Right now the issue is the cargo boxes that are causing the problem, those that have spilled out across the highway,'' Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said. <br />
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He said winds also blew over about a half-dozen tractor-trailers. No serious injuries or hazardous cargo were involved in those incidents. <br />
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Further north, the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota. No injuries were reported from that twister that resulted from a strong, isolated thunderstorm that dumped about an inch of rain within 20 minutes.