An estimated 60 tornadoes cut through Missouri, Kansas, Tennessee and Arkansas for hours Sunday, laying waste to homes and buildings, and wiping some small towns virtually off the map.

There were 12 confirmed deaths in Missouri and the governor declared a state of emergency for 17 counties. Ten more people were killed in the neighbouring state of Tennessee and another seven in Kansas, according to authorities.

In southwestern Missouri, the town of Pierce -- one of the areas that bore the brunt of what meteorologists are calling a "perfect storm" -- was essentially flattened.

The wreckage from pulverised homes and snapped trees was strewn across a wide area, and Red Cross officials had set up a shelter to take in the 300 people who had been left homeless by the devastation. Pierce has a population of 1,382.

"A lot of people are turning to their relatives and friends across the state," said Red Cross spokesman Michael Spencer.

"The Red Cross is going to be in this community for many, many weeks, helping these people to get back on their feet, because they have no one else to turn to right now."

The town's turn-of-the-century buildings were not built to withstand tornadoes, said Crystal Payton, spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the Midwestern region.

Missouri Governor Bob Holden called up the National Guard to help with the clean-up, and dispatched canine search and rescue teams and hazardous material teams to the 17 worst hit counties.

"This is the worst damage I've seen from a tornado in several years," he said, following a visit to a devastated neighborhood in Kansas City.

"We've got hundreds of walking wounded" and "enormous amounts of damage," said Steve Sloan with the State Emergency Management Agency in Jefferson City, Missouri.

There were at least five tornadoes across Kansas state Sunday, according to Emergency Management Agency officials.

One twister was 457 meters (500 yards) wide when it hit Leavenworth County, Kansas, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Lyn Maximuk.

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius declared seven counties disaster areas, and officials stopped all flights and evacuated terminals at the Kansas City International Airport.

In Tennessee, the fatalities were concentrated in the western part of the state.

"We've got 10 confirmed dead and we expect that number to get into the teens. We're pretty sure there are more casualties that haven't been recovered yet," said Kurt Pickering with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

In Jackson, Tennessee, utility companies were struggled to restore power and running water.

"We've got 27,000 people without power (and) most of the city without water," said Jackson's mayor Charles Farmer. The headquarters for the town's emergency services personel was one of the buildings hit during the storm.

Meteorologists warned that bad weather predicted for Monday and Tuesday would hamper recovery efforts.

The mayhem began when cold dry air from the Rocky Mountains in the western United States and moist warm air from the Gulf of Mexico collided in the central United States.

"It was a pretty perfect setup for severe weather," said Tarp.

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