Residents and work crews in the South and Midwest are beginning to clean up and survey the destruction from a series of storms that kicked up wildfires, tornadoes and dust storms.

At least 36 people have died across seven states as powerful storm systems swept through the Midwest and South. The storms have left hundreds of thousands of customers without power, injured dozens in Arkansas and caused fatalities linked to wildfires in Oklahoma.

At least 37 people have died in a devastating cross-country storm this weekend as 40 tornadoes ripped through eight states in the South and Midwest, decimating homes, businesses and schools.