US: Storms, tornadoes in Tennessee kill at least six, leave tens of thousands without power

At least six people were killed and tens of thousands were left without power after storms and tornadoes struck the US state of Tennessee on Saturday (Dec 9), the news agency Reuters reported. Of the six deaths - three were reported in the suburbs of Nashville and the other three in Montgomery County.

In a post on Facebook, the Montgomery County said, "At this time, we can confirm that three people are deceased, two adults and one child as a result of the tornado that touched down this afternoon. Additionally, 23 people have been treated at the hospital."

The county added that they were still in the search and rescue phase of the disaster, and urged residents to stay off the roads. "This is a sad day for our community. We are praying for those who are injured, lost loved ones, and lost their homes," county Mayor Wes Golden said.

Meanwhile, in a post on X, the Nashville Office of Emergency Management said, "Unfortunately we can confirm there are three fatalities as a result of the severe weather on Nesbitt Lane."

Outage tracking website poweroutage.us showed that more than 80,000 people in Tennessee were left without power as of Saturday evening.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado emergency alert for several Nashville suburbs earlier in the day.

(With inputs from agencies)