WASHINGTON, March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tornadoes ripped through Tennessee early Tuesday, leaving at least 25 people dead, destroying buildings and toppling power lines.
The twisters touched down shortly after midnight.
Residents ran for their lives as their homes came down around them. Tens of thousands lost power to their homes, officials said.
“TAKE COVER NOW! THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS STORM!!!” the National Weather Service tweeted as one tornado tore through an area west of Nashville.
Television broadcast showed cars piled up, hangars destroyed and what
appeared to be dozens of aircraft smashed into each other at Nashville’s John C. Tune Airport.
The Nashville Police Department circulated aerial photographs of many
buildings missing roofs and homes destroyed — standing next to houses that escaped damage.
“In the hours ahead, we will continue deploying search and rescue teams,
opening shelters across the state, and sending emergency personnel to our
communities hit hardest,” Governor Bill Lee wrote on Twitter.
Lee said late Tuesday that the toll had risen to 25 during the day.
Among the victims were two people in Nashville killed after being struck by
debris, police said.
Mayor John Cooper said around 150 people had been transported to medical facilities while nearly 50 buildings had collapsed in the city, the hub of the US country music scene.
US President Donald Trump said that he would visit the stricken areas
Friday.
“We send our love and our prayers of the nation to every family that was
affected, and we will get there and we will recover and we will rebuild and
we will help them,” Trump said.
The series of severe storms that passed through Tennessee caused major
damage to buildings, roads, bridges, utilities and businesses, the Tennessee
Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) said.
“Tornado damage has been reported throughout West and Middle Tennessee including downtown Nashville,” it added.
Overturned tractor trailers and other vehicles littered interstate
highways.
Cooper wrote on Twitter that “Nashville is hurting, and our community has
been devastated,” as he urged people to lend a helping hand.
More than 73,000 customers were without power amid scattered storms
throughout the day, TEMA reported.
The storms hit exactly a year after tornadoes cut across Alabama, which
lies directly south of Tennessee, killing 23. — NNN-AGENCIES
