Severe storms swept across the Midwest on Sunday, killing at least 11 people in Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois, officials said.

Local emergency officials reported eight deaths in west Tennessee's Dyer County, and the number of fatalities could rise, said Kurt Pickering, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Details on the deaths weren't immediately available.

The storms, which also injured dozens, spawned at least a half-dozen tornadoes in northeast Arkansas, dropped large, damaging hail and sent thousands of concertgoers in Indianapolis scrambling for cover.

In Missouri, strong winds were blamed for at least two deaths. A 42-year-old man was killed when winds knocked over his mobile home near Circle City, Stoddard County Sheriff Carl Hefner said.

Another man was killed when a tree fell on him as he walked along a trail in Castlewood State Park near Ballwin in St. Louis County, a spokeswoman for St. Louis County police told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

A state of emergency was declared in the southeast Missouri city of Caruthersville after a tornado caused heavy damage there. Details of the damage weren't available.

In Illinois, a 54-year-old man was killed when a clothing store in Fairview Heights, east of St. Louis, collapsed in high winds, police Capt. Nick Gailius said.

Emergency crews were searching the rubble for any additional victims, their progress slowed by a gas leak, Gailius said. Others were injured in the collapse, he said.

The storm also uprooted trees, downed power lines, tipped over semitrailer trucks and caused motorists to lose control of their vehicles, Gailius said.

In Tennessee, the National Weather Service reported that tornadoes were spotted in five counties in Tennessee's northwest corner, and officials said the storms caused extensive damage to buildings.

Softball-sized hail was reported in Arkansas, where half a dozen tornadoes were reported.

A tornado near the northeastern Arkansas town of Marmaduke sent at least 45 people to Arkansas Methodist Medical Center at Paragould, said a spokesman who added that many of the injuries were minor. Authorities closed off all access to Marmaduke, where damage was reportedly very heavy.

Weather service radar tracked the powerful thunderstorm with a possible tornado through downtown Indianapolis, meteorologists said. No major injuries were reported.

In Kentucky, tornadoes likely touched down in five counties, according to the National Weather Service. Cars were overturned in Lewisburg, a mobile home flipped near Owensboro and lights were blown off utility poles, officials said.

No deaths or major injuries were reported in the state.

Power also was knocked out to more than 300,000 customers in Illinois, Missouri and Indiana.

PHOTO CAPTION

Residents assess damage after a severe storm moved through Marmaduke, Ark., Sunday afternoon, April 2, 2006. (AP)