Violent thunderstorms and tornadoes lashed the U.S. Southeast and mid-Atlantic region yesterday, killing at least four people in Virginia a day after twisters claimed three lives along the Gulf Coast, authorities said.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned of tornado activity along a line of storms stretching from Raleigh, North Carolina, north to parts of Virginia, Maryland and the Washington, DC area.

Three people were confirmed dead in Waverly, Virginia, a town of some 2,300 residents about 45 miles southeast of Richmond, the state capital, where at least three structures sustained heavy damage in a mid-afternoon storm, according to a state police spokeswoman.

State police later said the three victims - two men, aged 50 and 26, and a two-year-old boy, were killed when their mobile home was demolished in the storm. Their bodies were all found about 300 meters from the trailer site.

The body of a fourth person, an adult male, was recovered late on Wednesday in the Evergreen community of Appomattox County, near Lynchburg, after a funnel cloud was reported over the area, police said.

Two highways leading into Waverly, US Route 460 and State Route 40, were left impassable by heavy debris from the storm, state police said. Authorities also were responding to widespread reports of local flooding.

Virginia state police reported severe storm damage and numerous injuries in the riverfront Essex County town of Tappahannock, northeast of Richmond, and in Appomattox County.

Tornado watches were posted through much of Virginia, and Governor Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency to hasten delivery of disaster relief to stricken areas.

Wednesday's severe weather came as rescue teams combed through debris left by several tornadoes that pummeled southern Louisiana and Mississippi on Tuesday, killing at least three people and injuring dozens more.