Tornados damage around 150 homes in North Carolina

Cars resembling concertinas, devastated houses and even upturned boats were left in the wake of multiple tornadoes in the U.S. state of North Carolina.

Residents surveyed the damage from the powerful storms.

Around 150 homes were destroyed and more than a dozen people sent to the emergency room.

Here in Beaufort residents tried to salvage a precious few items from their crushed mobile homes.

Trees were snapped clean in half by powerful winds of around 160 kilometres an hour.

Thousands were left without power, although by Sunday most electricity had been restored.

And meteorologists warned that the worst is not yet over, as a new severe storm system gains strength in the Great Plains.

They say there's a moderate risk of tornadoes touching down in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and the lower Mississippi Valley.