A large tornado has destroyed multiple homes and claimed at least one life as it ripped through the US city of New Orleans and its suburbs, local authorities said.

"Large tornado on the ground in New Orleans! Take shelter now!" the National Weather Service's local office tweeted at 8:35 pm (0235 GMT) on Tuesday.

At least one person was killed in Arabi, a New Orleans suburb, according to the sheriff of St. Bernard Parish.

Search and rescue efforts expected to last through the morning were under way, Sheriff James Pohlmann told a late-night press conference, adding there had been "heavy damage to multiple structures."

The tornado also struck the city's Ninth Ward and knocked out power for thousands in southern Louisiana, according to news outlet Nola.com.

Images circulating on local TV channels and online showed homes torn apart, with lamp posts, power lines and debris strewn across the streets.

"State agencies are assisting local officials as needed as they assess the damage and impacts of these tornadoes," tweeted Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards.

"My prayers are with you in Southeast Louisiana tonight. Please be safe."

The tornado was produced by a line of storms working its way across the southern United States on Tuesday, with more possible throughout the night.

Earlier in the day, Governor Greg Abbott of neighboring Texas issued a severe weather disaster declaration after a series of tornadoes swept through the state on Monday, causing severe damage.

Four dead, one missing, as storms batter New Zealand
Wellington (AFP) March 21, 2022 - Wild storms lashed New Zealand's North Island Monday, claiming at least four lives when a fishing vessel sank and causing chaos in the country's biggest city Auckland, officials said.

Four bodies were recovered and another person was missing after a chartered fishing boat went down off the remote Northland coast late Sunday, police said, with five survivors stable after being plucked from the raging seas.

The military sent two air force planes and a naval warship to help the search effort.

The storm front moved south and hit Auckland early Monday, dumping 76.8 mm (3.0 inches) of rain on the city in a single hour, the same amount it usually averages in a month at this time of year, the official MetService weather forecaster said.

Highways were closed due to flooding, schools shut after classrooms were inundated and ferry services were suspended amid heavy swells.

MetService said a cluster of thunderstorms was heading south before shifting direction and moving out to sea.

It lifted severe weather warnings but advised "the wet weather continues for many this week as a deep low pressure system approaches from the west".

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Tornado kills at least 1, destroys homes near US city of New Orleans
Washington (AFP) March 23, 2022
A large tornado destroyed homes and claimed at least one life near the US city of New Orleans on Tuesday night, according to media reports. "Large tornado on the ground in New Orleans! Take shelter now!" tweeted the National Weather Service's local office at 8:35 pm local time (0235 GMT). "Severe damage to homes" was reported in Arabi, an eastern suburb of New Orleans, according to a Facebook post by the sheriff's office in St. Bernard Parish. "Rescue efforts are under way for residents trap ... read more