Nashville tornado: 22 killed as twister destroys homes in Tennessee capital

Fatalities are spread across four counties and a state of emergency has been declared

A deadly tornado has swept through Nashville, Tennessee, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

So far, 22 people have been confirmed killed, and multiple injuries are reported with over 150 admitted to hospital.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency has declared a level three state of emergency for the state.

Governor Bill Lee confirmed that fatalities occurred in Davidson County, which includes Nashville, as well as in Putnam, Benton and Wilson counties. Several people have been reported missing.

Homes and businesses have been badly damaged, and tens of thousands are without power around Tennessee’s capital city. Nashville's fire department said it was responding to reports of approximately 40 structure collapses.

Donald Trump announced he will visit the Nashville area on Friday to tour the damage and meet with victims.

“It’s a vicious thing, those tornadoes, I’ve seen many of them over a three-year period and I’ve gotten to see the results and they are vicious. If you’re in their path, bad things happen,” the president told a conference of county executives in Washington. “We will get there and we will recover and we will rebuild and we will help them.”

Trump seems likely to stop in the Volunteer State on Friday before visiting Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta to tour the facility and meet with officials working on the federal coronavirus response.

Multiple tornadoes are believed to have struck a 145 mile band from Camden, west of Nashville, to Cookeville, east of the city. One tornado touched down very close to downtown Nashville.

“Our community has been impacted significantly,” Mt Juliet Police said at 2am local time. “We continue to search for injured.”

Police advised residents to stay at home and to “watch for downed power lines”.

“There are gas lines that are leaking, power lines that are on the ground, and multiple emergency responders are responding to those who are injured,” Mt Juliet Police department said.

Community shelters in the city have been set up for people who have been displaced by the tornado.

Tennessee is one of 14 US states that will vote on Tuesday to choose a Democratic candidate to challenge Mr Trump for the US presidency in November.

WKRN reports that some Super Tuesday polling stations may also have been impacted by the tornado. As many as fifteen polling places will have an alternative location for voters, officials said.

Additional reporting by Reuters