The death toll has risen to 24 and 38 still remain missing after multiple tornadoes touched down in and around Nashville, Tenn. on Tuesday morning.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), announced the latest death toll from the storms on Wednesday. The state remains uncertain about the overall damage totals from the storms which passed through Nashville, and heavily affected other nearby counties.
Video of the storm was captured by one crane operator stuck in his cabin as a tornado touched down in Nashville early Tuesday morning.
Jason Nash was stuck in a crane 375 feet high, staring down the tornado that was coming through Nashville. 😱 #tnwx pic.twitter.com/MhH5OX1Qpc
— Chad (@ChadBlue_) March 4, 2020
Two fatalities have been reported in Davidson County, whose capital city is Nashville. Three fatalities have been reported in Wilson County and one more in Benton County. Thus far, Putnam County has seen the highest number of fatalities at 18.
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
Tuesday’s tornadoes were the deadliest in the U.S. in seven years and in Putnam county, 38 people still remain unaccounted for, CNN reported. The last deadliest event occurred in Moore, Oklahoma in May of 2013. Hundreds of buildings were also reportedly destroyed in the storms and approximately 40,000 are without power.
This is just one area in Putnam County. We’re driving through and I have no words.
This is a war zone. And this video doesn’t begin to cover it. @WSMV #TNnews #CookevilleTornado pic.twitter.com/BQuBUfoIRZ— Joshua Cole (@JoshuaColeLive) March 4, 2020
Hundreds of volunteers could be seen gathered in Cookeville in Putnam County to assist in cleanup efforts.
Large crowd gathering to help volunteer with tornado cleanup efforts in Cookeville this morning . pic.twitter.com/PUXJOgUNZU
— Shelley Mays (@TNPhotoShelleyM) March 4, 2020
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has declared a state of emergency for the state. The current emergency management status is at Level 3, indicating a serious emergency or minor disaster has occurred. The most severe emergency status is a Level 1, catastrophic disaster requiring large scale state and federal assistance and an immediate military involvement. Level 5 is the least severe emergency status and indicates normal conditions.
I’m told behind this massive downed tree was a two-story Putnam Co home where a family of 3 survived tornado that leveled the house completely pic.twitter.com/dG8MovuJhp
— Anita Wadhwani (@anitawadhwani) March 4, 2020
It remains unclear how many tornadoes formed as a result of the Tuesday storm. Initial estimates indicated EF-3 tornado damage around in the eastern parts of Nashville.
Drone video showed storm damage in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, which is located east of Nashville.
A deadly tornado struck the Nashville area in the early hours of Tuesday. https://t.co/SPsh3yBf8p pic.twitter.com/P1QHkNRm64
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 3, 2020
All Metro Nashville Public Schools and afterschool programs were reportedly closed for Wednesday and at least two schools will not be able to reopen immediately as repairs could take days for one school and several weeks for the other.
Tennessee, which was among the Super Tuesday states also saw voting stations affected by the storms. A judge ordered five polling sites to remain open until 10 p.m. on Tuesday after several top Democratic campaigns filed a lawsuit to extend the primary voting.
