At least seven people have been killed after thunderstorms and tornadoes swept through several US states – with forecasters warning record rainfall could soon follow in some regions.

A man and his teenage daughter, whose home was destroyed in western Tennessee, were among the dead, along with a man whose pickup truck struck downed powerlines in Indiana.

Fatalities were also reported in Missouri as the first in a series of forecast storms ripped across the country on Wednesday and early Thursday.

Thousands of properties have been left without power, with some homes also destroyed.

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Some debris was launched nearly five miles (8km) above the ground in Arkansas.

In Lake City, Arkansas, a tornado took the roofs off homes, demolished brick walls and tossed cars into trees.

Worse may be to come for parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, the Weather Prediction Centre in Maryland said.

A stretch of the Mississippi River around Memphis, where more than 1.3 million people live, is set to bear the brunt.

In total, more than 90 million people have been at risk of severe weather – from Texas to Minnesota and Maine, according to the Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Centre.

Prolonged heavy rains are forecast for the central US, and will bring “significant, life-threatening flash flooding” each day, the National Weather Service warned.

The sustained downpour could bring more than a foot (30cm) of rain over the next four days, described by the weather service as a “once in a generation to once in a lifetime” event.

It warned that “historic rainfall totals and impacts are possible.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it was ready to distribute food, water, cots, generators, and meals.

So many tornado warnings were issued in the Tennessee capital, Nashville, overnight that the batteries of some sirens in the city were drained, fire officials said.

People were rescued from floodwater on Thursday in flooded parts of the city, which is braced for days of rain.

Historic amounts of rain and flooding are also expected in western Kentucky in places that do not normally get overwhelmed by water, state governor Andy Beshear said.

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The forecasts have been especially worrying for people in rural areas of the state, where floodwaters can quickly rush off the mountains into the hollows. Less than four years ago, dozens died in flooding across eastern Kentucky.

Warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming in from the Gulf are responsible for the conditions, forecasters said.