UPDATE - 22 people now confirmed dead as powerful tornadoes hit Tennessee
At least 22 people died as the storms cut a path across Tennessee.
NASHVILLE — A powerful storm early Tuesday spawned tornadoes that ripped through Tennessee, killing at least 22 people and creating a trail of devastation that struck Nashville and stretched across several counties in the central part of the state.
Officials said the full extent of the storm’s wrath remained impossible to grasp, as the death toll climbed and an untold number of people were unaccounted for as of Tuesday morning. At least 16 fatalities were reported in Putnam County, roughly 80 miles east of Nashville, and deaths were also reported in Davidson, Benton and Wilson Counties.
In Nashville, the police said a man and a woman had died after being struck by debris in East Nashville, an area of the city that had been among the hardest hit.
“We have much to know and much to learn in the hours ahead,” Gov. Bill Lee told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday morning. Asked if he knew how many people were missing, he replied, “We don’t know that yet. Reports are just coming in. It’s still early yet.”
The tornadoes cut a path through the middle of Tennessee in the early morning hours on Tuesday. A line of severe storms moved through the region starting on Monday, and late in the day, the National Weather Service urged people to take cover as forecasters warned of severe thunderstorms and the potential for tornadoes.
Where Tornadoes Were Reported in Tennessee
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In Nashville, buildings were eviscerated and streets were filled with debris.
In Nashville alone, the authorities reported that at least 48 structures had either partially or completely collapsed. “It is a massive act of nature,” John Cooper, Nashville’s mayor, said at a briefing on Tuesday morning.
Officials warned that the number of confirmed fatalities could rise, as officials were still working to get a handle on the reach of the devastation and emergency workers continued to search through the rubble of damaged buildings. Police officers were going house to house in some areas, and road crews were clearing streets and dangerous electrical debris.
“It’s not looking good right now. We still have several people missing, a lot of loved ones calling in wanting us to locate their family,” Sheriff Eddie Farris of Putnam County told a local news station, WKRN. “We certainly hope that number doesn’t go up, but it’s not looking real promising at this point.”
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In Nashville, fire officials said that more than 400 emergency calls had been made in the hours since the tornado touched down. Much of the damage in the city was concentrated in the Germantown neighborhood, which is north of downtown, and in East Nashville, including considerable devastation in the popular Five Points area. Photographs and videos spread on social media showing buildings that had been shredded and streets strewn with debris.
Residents reported homes with roofs that had been stripped off and windows that had been blown out. The John C. Tune Airport, six miles west of downtown, sustained significant damage, with several hangars destroyed and power lines down, but none was reported at Nashville International Airport.
On one local television newscast, an anchor showed viewers side-by-side photographs of streets lined with popular restaurants, hangouts and murals alongside the rubble that had taken their place.
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The Basement East, a popular music venue, was severely damaged, and the roof appeared to have blown off. “All staff working tonight are okay!” the venue said on its Twitter account. “Building sustained significant damage.”
At the briefing on Tuesday, Mr. Cooper pointed out one auto parts store that had been decimated, which he saw as a sign of the tornado’s raw strength. “There was no stopping that,” he told reporters. “That just came out of the sky.”
Schools are closed and tens of thousands of people have lost power.
The police in Mount Juliet, an eastern suburb of Nashville, said on Twitter that several people in the city had been injured and several residences had been destroyed, and they urged residents to stay home.
In Benton County, about 100 miles west of Nashville, at least three fatalities had been reported and officials were out assessing the toll. “Power lines and roads down and of course electric was out but much of that cleared and restored very timely,” Brett Lashlee, the county’s mayor, said in an email. “More to come as we tour areas.”
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President Trump will visit Nashville on Friday.
President Trump said that he would visit the Nashville area on Friday, adding that he was working with state officials and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was already on the ground.
“Our hearts are full of sorrow for the lives that were lost,” he said, speaking at a conference for the National Association of Counties in Washington. “It’s a vicious thing, those tornadoes. I’ve seen many of them during a three-year period and I’ve gotten to see the results and they are vicious if you are in their path.”
“We will get there, and we will recover, and we will rebuild, and we will help them,” he added.
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They were shared on social media by stunned residents, weather forecasters and local news reporters.
Sam Shamburger, the lead forecaster at National Weather Service Nashville, shared a video of the tornado passing near the downtown area, stirring up debris amid bursts of lightning.
Here’s a longer clip of the #tornado as it was coming into view. You can clearly see the debris cloud and power flashes as it approaches then passes just north of downtown #Nashville pic.twitter.com/RKXthMd7IG
— Sam Shamburger (@shamnadoes) March 3, 2020
After sunrise, the scale of the tornado’s devastation became clearer, and the police shared aerial pictures of homes and businesses utterly demolished by the storm.
One of our helicopters just landed after surveying tornado destruction from overnight. pic.twitter.com/XmBpbOmBuf
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 3, 2020
The John C. Tune Airport had debris scattered on the runways and surrounding fields. The former Tennessee State Prison, a 122-year-old building that is no longer used to incarcerate people and was a filming location for “The Green Mile,” was also damaged.
An aerial view of damage at the old Tennessee State Prison @TDOCCommish #nashvilletornado #NashvilleTN pic.twitter.com/eIP9msIDBB
— Dept of Correction (@TNTDOC1) March 3, 2020
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