10 killed as tornadoes sweep through Tennessee
A line of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes have torn across America’s midsection, peeling away roofs, overturning cars and killing at least 10 people in Tennessee.
At least eight of the deaths were north east of Nashville, said Eddie Boatwright, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
Fire Chief Joe Womack said three bodies were pulled from the wreckage of homes in plots of land at Gallatin, about 24 miles north east of the city.
The storms were moving to the north east after developing from a low-pressure system in the central Plains.
They were the second wave of violent weather to hit Tennessee in less than a week. Last weekend, thunderstorms and tornadoes killed 24 people in the western part of the state and destroyed more than 1,000 homes and buildings.
Tornadoes were also reported in the Nashville suburbs of Goodlettsville, Hendersonville and Ashland City, and in Holladay, about 90 miles west of Nashville. The storms flattened trees, knocked down power lines and damaged homes and other buildings.
Patchy communications made it difficult for emergency responders to get a full picture of the damage. Phone lines to authorities and most businesses were out of service.
In Gallatin, Steven Davis, who lives about a block away from the hard-hit area, said he was at home when he heard the storm was coming. He ran to a neighbour’s home that had a crawl space to take shelter.
“When the tornado came through, the roof was off just like that,” Davis said. Houses on each side of his street were destroyed. “Our neighbourhood is levelled,” Davis said.
Hospitals admitted at least 60 people with storm-related injuries and transferred at least nine critically-injured patients to Nashville hospitals.
