HOUSTON - Violent storms killed at least 13 people in the US states of Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas on Tuesday evening, authorities said Wednesday.

The storms, which came closely behind the deadly twister that struck Joplin, Missouri Sunday and killed at least 122 people, moved into the Oklahoma City area Tuesday evening.

Several tornadoes hit the state's largest city and its suburbs, killing at least eight people and injuring some 60 people, according to local media reports.

Nearly 58,000 homes lost power and damage was reported in at least 14 counties in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management Statewide said.  

The storms claimed two lives in Kansas before moving to Arkansas and killing another three in that state, authorities said.

The system was centered over Missouri, Arkansas and southern Illinois early Wednesday and moving into Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi.

Illinois and Indiana were under a tornado watch.

Twisters also brewed in Dallas and several northern Texas counties, said the National Weather Service, with at least one tornado reported on the ground.

The Joplin tornado is the deadliest single tornado in the United States since modern record-keeping began more than 60 years ago. A CNN report said 1,500 people are still unaccounted for on Wednesday.