Music City Still Singing
Putnam County, the area hit hard by a tornado earlier this week, 18 people were killed, including five children under 13, Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter released.
Two people died in Nashville, three in Wilson County and one in Benton County. He said at least two were in critical condition at a Nashville hospital and 22 people were still missing.
On Twitter, News anchor.reporter, Jennifer Waddell released a list of names of people killed in the deadly tornado. Please look at the names and help families and friends.
Its heartbreaking, but its worse not knowing.
Dark Aftermath
In Cookeville, more than 100 homes and businesses were damaged, and many were reduced to rubble. Emergency responders fear more victims may be trapped in basements or under debris.
Putnam Sheriff Eddie Farris said about 40% of the rubble still needs to be searched, including a 25-acre field with marshy vegetation reaching 7 feet high.
According to CNN, this was the deadliest tornado day in 7 years.
Polls Down & Lights Off
The storms fell on Super Tuesday, and many of the polling locations were in the storm's path.Some locations were destroyed or damaged, and in some instances, multiple polling places were consolidated into one.
"We've deployed generators to polling stations that don't have power," said Gov. Bill Lee. "We want folks to get out there and exercise their right to vote."
It's not clear how many tornadoes struck the region, but several reports of tornadoes along a 145-mile stretch of central Tennessee - from Camden (80 miles west of Nashville) to the Cookeville area, (80 miles east of Music City) the weather service reported.
About 40,000 people were without power as of Wednesday, most of them in Davidson and Wilson counties, TEMA said. Crews were having trouble getting to the affected areas because of downed power lines and debris.
