Strong storms hit Texas and Oklahoma, two southern U.S. states, over the weekend, leaving three people dead, 12 missing and more than 2,000 others homeless, Xinhua reported.
In Texas, the second largest U.S. state, the cities of San Marcos and Wimberley in the central region suffered extensive damage following Saturday's torrential rain that forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 people from their homes, leaving 12 missing, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Authorities estimated that as many as 1,300 homes in the two cities were damaged by the storms, and that at least 67 were completely destroyed.
On Monday, authorities are still searching for the 12 missing people, including four adults and a 4-year-old boy from a family that is missing near Wimberley. A man's body was recovered from a flooded area along the Blanco River between the state's capital of Austin and the central city of San Antonio.
In southwest Houston on Sunday, two people were sent to hospital for treatment and hundreds of people were left homeless after a tornado struck an apartment complex that partly collapsed.
Meanwhile, heavy rain also swept across the neighboring state of Oklahoma on Saturday night and Sunday, causing floods, forcing evacuations and leading to at least two deaths.
Authorities warned that the two states will have more storms in the coming days