Officials say they have confirmed that the death toll has climbed to five after a string of tornadoes that hit central and southern Illinois.

Patti Thompson of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency says the latest two deaths occurred Sunday in Massac County in far southern Illinois. She says she does not have any further details.

Officials confirmed earlier that one person died in the central Illinois community of Washington, where a tornado destroyed several blocks of houses.

Also, the county coroner in Washington County in southern Illinois said that two people died in the town of New Minden, about 50 miles southeast of St. Louis. The victims were an elderly man and his sister who died when a tornado struck their farm house.