Tornadoes and strong storms hit the US state of Tennessee on Saturday, killing at least six people, severely damaging homes and causing power outages, AFP reported.

TornadoPhoto: Jason Persoff Stormdoctor / ImageSource / Profimedia

Three deaths were recorded in the northern suburbs of Nashville, the capital of this state in the southeastern United States, Agerpres reports.

The Nashville Emergency Management Agency posted photos on social media of uprooted trees and destroyed homes.

“Sadly, we can confirm that three people have died due to the weather on Nesbitt Lane,” the X office said.

A tornado touched down in the northern part of the city of Clarksville, also causing casualties.

“We can confirm that three people have died, two adults and a child,” Montgomery County authorities said in a statement, adding that “23 people were taken to the hospital for treatment.”

First responders are “still in the search and rescue phase of this disaster,” they said, asking residents to stay indoors.

Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts declared a state of emergency and imposed traffic restrictions starting at 9:00 p.m. Saturday (03:00 GMT Sunday). Restrictions will remain in force on Sunday.

About 52,000 homes reported power outages in the state Saturday night, down from 86,000 earlier, according to PowerOutage.us.

Telecommunications provider CDE Lightband said more than 14,000 of its customers in Clarksville were without power.

“We will work 24 hours a day to restore power to our city as soon as possible (…),” he wrote on X.

Images released by local media showed rows of houses destroyed by strong winds, damaged trees, overturned vehicles and downed power lines.