Six people are dead and dozens injured after tornadoes struck Nashville and the Tennessee town of Clarksville early Saturday evening, officials said.
The dead in Clarksville include two adults and one child, according to a statement from Michelle Newell, spokesperson for Montgomery County, where the town is located.
Another 23 people from Clarksville were taken to hospitals, she said.
The Nashville Office of Emergency Management said three people also died in a northern community of the city along Nesbitt Lane. It reported “severe damage” in the area and asked residents to avoid it as well as downed power lines.
Thirteen people were injured in a church collapse roughly 9 miles north of downtown Nashville, and were stabilized after being taken to hospitals, the office said.
The office said that around 4 p.m. a National Weather Service radar had suggested a “large and extremely dangerous tornado” was spinning about 30 miles west of Nashville and headed east at 40 mph.
“This was considered a particularly dangerous situation,” it said.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell declared a state of emergency late Saturday and urged people to stay away from areas with significant damage, including the community of Madison, the city's "hardest-hit" area, the statement said.
The declaration was preceded by one from Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts, who also enacted a 9 p.m. curfew Saturday and Sunday "for the health, safety, and welfare of the community," he said in a separate statement.
“This is a sad day for our community,” Montgomery County Mayor Wes Golden said in the statement. “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.”
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