At least 17 dead after tornadoes cause devastation across central states as forecasters warn another HUNDRED twisters could hit the area this week 

• More than a hundred tornadoes set to hit the central states this week at the start of the nation's tornado season
  
• The Arkansas tornado touched down about 10 miles west of Little Rock at around 7 p.m.
• It moved northeastward for at least 30 miles leaving a path of destruction - severe property damage 
  
• Tornado caused havoc on the Arkansas towns of Mayflower and Vilonia
  
• Storm-watchers fear that Midwest states like Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri face a high risk of tornadoes this week
  
• More storms are expected Monday in the South and Mississippi Valley
• The 11-month-old boy whose home was destroyed on Friday during tornado in North Carolina has died 
  
• President Obama said in a statement: 'Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild, as long as it takes'
  

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER and AP

PUBLISHED: 23:49 GMT, 27 April 2014 | UPDATED: 09:46 GMT, 28 April 2014

At least 17 people have died after a powerful storm system spawning several tornadoes tore through the central and southern states last night with experts warning that another hundred are set to hit the central states this week at the start of tornado season.

Winds ripped houses off their foundations and flipped cars on top of the rubble in the small town of Vilonia in central Arkansas' Faulkner county, one of the worst-hit communities. 

Early this morning Arkansas Department of Emergency Management announced the death toll stating the deadly weather had killed seven people in Faulkner County, five people in Pulaski County and one person in White County.

Tornado watches - which means twisters could develop but are not an immediate threat - are in effect for states as far west as New Mexico and as far east as Tennessee and the system produced storms that were moving through the region in waves. 

Watches were also issued for Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Iowa, Texas and Louisiana. Quapaw was heavily damaged. 'Looks like about half of town got extensive damage as well as the fire department,' Ottawa County Emergency Management director Joe Morgan said. 

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