Tornadoes In Tennessee Kill At Least 19 And Cause Widespread Damage In Nashville
Tornadoes gashed through western and central Tennessee early Tuesday, with the worst damage concentrated in and around Nashville. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency says at least 19 were killed across four counties, and there are fears the death toll could climb as first responders continue to search for victims.
At a Tuesday morning press conference, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said the deaths were "heartbreaking."
"We have had loss of life all across the state," he said. "Four different counties, as of this morning, had confirmed fatalities — in Benton County, Putnam County, Wilson County, Davidson County."
A line of severe storms caused significant damage to buildings, roads and bridges across multiple counties, according to a 7:40 a.m. bulletin from TEMA. Emergency officials were still trying to assess the scope of the damage. The number of businesses and residents without power remains unknown.
The storms ripped through middle and western Tennessee hours before residents were to take part in Super Tuesday voting in presidential nominating contests.
Davidson County, which includes Nashville, pushed back the opening of its polling centers by an hour to 8 a.m., citing storm damage. The polls are still scheduled to close at 7 p.m. as originally planned.
"The State of Tennessee has activated a strong coordinated response effort to last night's devastating storms," Lee tweeted Tuesday morning. "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."
Reporter Blake Farmer of NPR member station WPLN, reporting for Morning Edition, described debris strewn across one section of East Nashville.
"Just debris everywhere, roofs that are gone, windows that have been blown out a good part of an old historic church that's laying in the street as rubble, a few buildings that have basically collapsed," Farmer said. "I'm looking down an alley, they're power lines just all netted over the alley and pieces of metal roofing and all sort of debris hanging everywhere."
Officials are cautioning residents to keep roads free for emergency personnel and to stay away from damaged buildings or hazardous locations. Emergency officials are also urging residents to refrain from calling 911 unless it is a life-threatening emergency.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper sought to project a message of unity, tweeting that "together, we will get through this and come out stronger."
"Nashville is hurting and our community has been devastated," he tweeted. "My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones. Be sure to lend a helping hand to a neighbor in need, and let's come together as a community once more. Together, we will get through this and come out stronger."
This is a developing story and will be updated. [Copyright 2020 NPR]
