MIAMI: Deadly thunderstorms thought to be carrying a tornado ripped through central Florida on Friday, killing 14 people, levelling scores of homes and leaving thousands stranded without power.

A state of emergency was declared in the Sunshine State after the pre-dawn storms wheeled across the area leaving a trail of devastation in their wake, with hundreds, possibly thousands, of wood houses and a church flattened by the winds.

Eleven people died in Paisley, Florida, and three in Lady Lake, Christopher Patton, a spokesman for Lake County said. Residents likened the storms to a freight train that slammed into their homes, smashing them to smithereens.—AFP