Live Updates: 2 Deaths Reported, Rescue Underway in Severe Weather Conditions
As officials in the central and southern US analyze the damage from reported tornadoes and violent storms that killed at least two people Wednesday, residents across many states begin the agonizing work of picking through the wreckage left in the aftermath of powerful storms.
Throughout Wednesday night, the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings in North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, and Kentucky. Parts of Arkansas and Mississippi were also under tornado watch until the early hours.
Tennessee was particularly severely struck Wednesday, with at least four tornado warnings and heavy gusts that downed power lines and trees. According to Bob Brooks, the sheriff of Claiborne County, which is about an hour north of Knoxville, a 22-year-old man was in a car when he was fatally struck by one of the trees.
WSMV 4 reports that a second person was murdered near Columbia, Maury County, just south of Nashville. Crews resumed rescue operations in Maury County throughout the night, where the National Weather Service said a tornado had touched down.
Flash flooding forced water rescues and clogged roadways north of Nashville. Rutherford County Schools, located just southeast of Nashville, said that it would close on Thursday due to “several flooding issues,” as well as regions without power and toppled trees, in a post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.
About 30 miles east of Nashville, Wilson County Emergency Management Agency Director Joey Cooper reported 10 flooded roads in Lebanon, with four impassable, two trees blocking roadways, and one transformer fire.
According to poweroutage.us, around 63,000 people in Tennessee were without power on Thursday morning.