At least nineteen people are dead following an extremely powerful tornado that passed through central Tennessee Tuesday morning. The tornado cut a swath through Nashville before heading into the middle of the state. It caused millions of dollars in damage along with the human toll of the lives it claimed.
The tornado destroyed at least forty buildings outright in Nashville. The tornado’s extremely strong winds were catastrophic.
Numerous residential areas, homes and apartments were damaged by the storm. At least forty-five buildings showed partial damage Tuesday morning in Nashville. Tennessee governor Bill Lee issued a statement Tuesday morning about the storm.
“As tragic as this is — and our hearts are broken — we are certain that we’ll surround these folks and we’ll do what is necessary to recover,” the governor assured residents of the state.
Late Monday evening and early Tuesday morning, there were at least three distinct tornado sightings along the path of the storm. It is unclear if one or multiple tornadoes were responsible for the destruction.
One of the reasons tornadoes are so dangerous is because they can appear out of nowhere. They are very hard to track, and they move very quickly. This makes them very difficult to predict or avoid. People who would otherwise evacuate an area are often caught flat-footed by a tornado and can’t get away from it in time.
“There are a couple of tragic cases, in one case a tree falling on a car and there are also I believe about 20 people in the hospital, so we need to monitor that very carefully,” Nashville Cooper told reporters.
“We all worry about some people being left in some buildings that have been damaged and I know the first responders are working their way through that problem.”
Urban search teams arrived early Tuesday morning to search through the rubble and ruins. They hoped to find people who might be trapped underneath collapsed buildings. According to officials, the search is concentrated in the areas around Hermitage, Germantown and East Nashville. The tornado hit these areas hit the most with its devastating, destructive winds.
While at least nineteen people have been killed by the storm, even more have been injured. It’s unclear exactly how many people will need a serious injury attorney, but the numbers are likely high. Likewise, schools in numerous counties in Tennessee will be closed for a few days to a week while the storm damage and power outages are addressed.
