A devastating tornado hit Nashville and Middle Tennessee early Tuesday morning which left at least 21 people dead. The city is now in the process of examining and cleaning up the damage and one local pro sports team has offered its support. The Nashville Predators went to Twitter to send a message to everyone who has been affected by the storms.
“There aren’t any perfect words to say on days like this,” the Predators wrote. “Our hearts are broken for all the people affected by the storms, and we praying for quick healing.”
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NHL teams responded to the tweet to show their support.
“Our thoughts are with everyone in Nashville,” the Toronto Maple Leafs wrote.
“Our thoughts are with you and everyone in the Nashville community today,” the Florida Panthers wrote.
Fans also showed their support for the Predators and the city of Nashville.
“Awful news, can’t imagine how scary last night was,” one fan wrote. “Was in Nashville/Mt Juliet last week. Stay strong and hope everyone is surrounded by loved ones to assist getting past this.”
“When we woke up this morning and saw the destruction we was in disbelief as we are from West TN,” another fan wrote. “We are glad that you all are ok and hope that others are ok.”
“All the best to Nashville from Buffalo,” a third fan added. “We love your city and many of us had a blast there during football season. You guys got this!”
Tennessee Emergency Management (TEMA) Community Relations Officer Maggie Hannan confirmed mid-Tuesday morning that the death toll has risen to 19. However, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said it’s very possible more people could have died because of the storms.
“There’s a really good possibility that there may be more,” Lee said, according to the Tennessean. “It’s early yet.”
Later, WKRN’s Josh Breslow reported that 21 people died in the tornado.
The majority of deaths occurred in Putnam County as a reported 16 people there lost their lives.
“At approximately 2:00 AM CST, one confirmed tornado touched down between the city limits of Cookeville and Baxter,” Putnam County officials wrote in a Facebook post before the news conference. “We have confirmed deaths possibly of 3 or more.”
Along with the 21 reported deaths, more than 150 people have been transported to local hospitals due to injuries according to FOX17 Nashville.
