Severe storms and tornadoes that swept across Tennessee killed six people and injured at least two dozen more on Saturday.
The extreme weather destroyed homes, cut off power and closed roads, leading one mayor to issue a nighttime curfew of 9 p.m. for Saturday and Sunday.
“This is a sad day for our community,” Montgomery County Mayor Wes Golden said in a statement about the three people, including one child, who died in the area bordering Kentucky. “We are praying for those who are injured, lost loved ones, and lost their homes. This community pulls together like no other and we will be here until the end.”
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]
Here’s what to know.
What happened and what is the extent of the damage?
The National Weather Service issued severe weather watches and reported two dozen hail storms, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes across several counties in central and northern Tennessee on Saturday. The first touched down just before 1:30 p.m. in Cumberland City in Stewart County, northwest of Nashville.
At approximately 2 p.m., a tornado touched down in the area of Hand Estates, a neighborhood in the vicinity of Garrettsburg Road in Montgomery County, the Sheriff’s Office said. Clarksville Fire and Rescue shared photos on Facebook of ripped-up houses and a flipped semi-truck.
Three people—two adults and one child—were killed and 23 people treated at the hospital for injuries, Montgomery County said in a Facebook post. TIME reached out to the county for more information on the victims.
“This is devastating news and our hearts are broken for the families of those who lost loved ones,” City of Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts said in a statement. “The City stands ready to help them in their time of grief.”
Further south in Nashville, at least three people died and others were injured along Nesbitt Lane north of downtown, Metro Nashville PD said via social media. Meanwhile, Nashville’s Emergency Operations Ctr. shared pictures of mangled homes and jumbled debris crashed on top of a car in the area.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said Joseph Dalton, 37, was inside his mobile home and died when the storm threw it on top of another residence, killing Floridema Gabriel Perez, 31, and her son, Anthony Elmer Mendez, 2, the Associated Press reported. Two other children, one in each home, were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, per the AP.
TIME reached out to the police department for more information.
Also in Davidson County, where Nashville is located, another tornado around 4:45 p.m. flipped a car on the interstate, the National Weather Service said. As of 10 p.m., the severe weather threat ended for all of Middle Tennessee, the agency reported.
TIME has reached out to other counties to find out impacts.
How have the storms disrupted life?
Sumner County, northeast of Nashville, declared a state of emergency on Saturday. In Montgomery County, Clarksville, Mayor Joe Pitts also declared a state of emergency and placed the city under a curfew for Saturday and Sunday night, starting at 9 p.m.
As of Saturday, multiple roads in Montgomery County were closed because of downed trees, power lines and an overturned semi-truck, the county said on Facebook.
The storms knocked out power to around 19,000 customers, Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation reported. As of Sunday morning, around 13,000 customers around Clarksville were still without power, the company’s website showed.
On Saturday evening, about 39,000 customers in Nashville were without electricity after two substations were damaged, the city’s emergency operations center said. The agency said that it was working to restore as much power as quickly as possible, “but the damage is severe and it will take our crews time as the assessments continue until the morning.”
Nashville Electric Service reported that nearly 28,500 customers were still in the dark Sunday morning.
There was no information readily available on Sunday morning as to whether schools would be in session on Monday in Montgomery, Davidson or Sumner counties. TIME reached out to school districts for more information.
Where can people get assistance and how can others help?
The American Red Cross said on Saturday it was running three shelter locations in Tennessee: Northeast High School at 3701 Trenton Road in Clarksville, Beech High School at 3126 Long Hollow Pike in Hendersonville, and Isaac Litton Middle School at 4601 Hedgewood Drive in Nashville. If you are displaced, the relief organization said to call them at 1-800-RED CROSS for assistance.
Local nonprofit organizations were also taking donations Saturday to help those who evacuated.
Nonprofit YAIPak issued an urgent request for cots, blankets, portable lights, ready to eat food, water, generators, household cleaning supplies, flashlights, batteries, plywood, large tarps, totes with lids, baby care items and small children’s toys. Those in the area can deliver donations to 1255 Paradise Hill Road in Clarksville. Others can donate to the Red Cross and its Tennessee local chapter to support.
Leave a comment
