Tennessee Videos Show Aftermath of Deadly Tornadoes

Harrowing videos shared on social media showed the aftermath of deadly tornadoes that tore through parts of Tennessee on Saturday.

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) confirmed at least three fatalities in the Madison suburb and Montgomery County officials said two adults and one child died after the tornado touched down. Dozens more in Montgomery County were treated at a nearby hospital.

Videos uploaded to X, formerly Twitter, and seen by Newsweek showed that the tornado had leveled areas of Montgomery County.

Debris was left scattered across the road and homes were left seriously damaged in areas of Clarksville, one clip uploaded by @truthpolex showed.

A second video posted to X by journalist Arun Gangwar laid bare the destruction, with fallen trees and telephone poles ripped in half in the clip.

Another video shared by the account @crimewithbobby showed buildings close to the roadside that had been destroyed and numerous cars and other vehicles showing significant signs of damage

Telephone lines were also shown to be down in Gallatin, just northeast of Nashville, according to one video shared by BretM23.

The Nashville office of the National Weather Service warned of a “life-threatening situation” at 4:45 p.m. on December 9 and confirmed a tornado had touched down near Nashville.

Newsweek has contacted the MNPD and Clarksville Police Department (CPD) via email and Facebook, respectively.

In the aftermath of the tornado, mayors in Montgomery County and Nashville declared a state of emergency.

Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts said a public curfew would be enforced in the city in the wake of the tornadoes.

“In accordance with Section 1-1204 of the official city code, and in light of the natural disaster occurring today, I am declaring the city of Clarksville to be under a state of emergency,” he said in an update posted on the CPD Facebook page on December 9.

“In furtherance of the state of emergency, I find it is necessary for the health, safety, and welfare of the community to place the city under a curfew for tonight (12/9) and tomorrow night (12/10) beginning at 9 p.m.”

A spokesperson for Pitts told Newsweek he would be commenting to the media at a press conference at 10:30 a.m. local time at Northeast High School in Clarksville.

Montgomery County Mayor Wes Golden said in a December 9 Facebook post: “This is a sad day for our community. 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.”

“Tonight, Nashville endured heartbreaking loss. We also suffered extensive damage in multiple parts of the city,” Freddie O’Connell, the mayor of Metropolitan Nashville stated in a December 9 X post.

“After reviewing with Nashville EOC (Emergency Operations Center), I’ve declared a state of emergency. Crews are still out tonight. We will have more information tomorrow. Be safe, and take care.”

Newsweek has contacted O’Connell for comment via email.

Severe weather was reported in the South on Saturday, which included baseball-sized hail in Mississippi as well as a tornado in Kentucky.

Daniel Smith, with the Todd County Emergency Management in Kentucky, previously told Newsweek in an email interview that a storm cell swept into Todd County from the southwest and traveled between the cities of Trenton and Guthrie.

“The are two areas of extensive damage one near East Lester Chapel Road, south of Trenton where an Amish community had several homes and barns destroyed,” Smith said.

“The second was just south of Allensville along State Line Road, where several homes were damaged and there was extensive damage to power lines and power poles along Highway 79.”