At least four people were killed, and several others injured after severe thunderstorms, including tornadoes, swept across portions of the South on Tuesday as damage was reported in seven states.

Communities in Florida and the Carolinas appeared to be the hardest hit, with significant damage to homes and businesses.

Nearly 1 million power outages were reported during the peak of the storm system across the eastern half of the country, with the mid-Atlantic being the hardest hit.

Two dead in Alabama

Storms started the morning over Alabama, knocking over trees and producing at least one suspected tornado.

The heaviest concentration of damage was near the Florida-Alabama border in Houston County.

Local authorities said 81-year-old Charlotte Pascal was killed when a suspected tornado ripped through the community of Cottonwood around 7:30 a.m.

Houston County Commissioner Brandon Shoupe said recovery efforts in the town would take weeks and encouraged residents not to travel while power lines and debris blocked roadways.

Further north, the conditions the storm system left behind caused trees to fall.

The National Weather Service office in Birmingham said wind gusts around 40 mph and saturated grounds likely played a role in a tree falling onto a sedan, killing a driver.

Georgia morning commute deadly

In the Peach State, police said a man was killed in the metro Atlanta region after a tree fell during gusty winds in Jonesboro.

Authorities said the man was the only person in the vehicle as the tree fell along Highway 54.

The National Weather Service office in Peachtree City issued Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for many counties, including the always-busy Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The severe weather caused hundreds of delays and cancelations, and some flights had to be diverted to other airports in the Southeast due to a lengthy ground stop.

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