Scenes of devastation caused by Nashville tornadoes

More than 20 people were killed by powerful tornadoes that struck Nashville, Tenn., in the early hours of Tuesday morning, flattening buildings, damaging an airport and leaving tens of thousands of people without power.  

(Mark Humphry/The Associated Press)

Search and rescue

Search and rescue teams were out searching damaged structures for trapped or injured individuals, the Nashville Fire Department said, responding to reports of approximately 40 collapses of structures around the city. Below, early morning rescue workers free Bill and Shirley Wallace from their home that collapsed, trapping them under rubble after a tornado hit Mt. Juliet.

(Larry McCormack/The Tennessean/The Associated Press) 

Home of country music 

Nashville, with a population of 691,000, is among the country's fastest-growing cities and is the informal home of country music in the United States. Below, people view damage at Nashville's Basement East music venue.

(Harrison McClary/Reuters)

Power out

The twister knocked down power lines and Nashville Electric, the city's public utility, said there were more than 44,000 customers without power early in the morning.

(Harrison McClary/Reuters) 

Damaged buildings

"This was obviously a very strong tornado. There are multiple homes damaged, multiple people injured, multiple people still trapped," Mt. Juliet Police Capt. Tyler Chandler said in a video posted on Facebook. "We need your help. And that means if you can stay at your house, please stay home."

(Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) 

Sumant Joshi helps to clean up rubble at the East End United Methodist Church after it was heavily damaged. Joshi is a resident in the area and volunteered to help clean up. 

(Mark Humphry/The Associated Press)

Schools closed

Schools, district offices and courts will be closed on Tuesday due to the tornado damage throughout Nashville, officials said, though election polling sites at schools and elsewhere will be open "unless otherwise noted." Here, debris covers a car near Donelson Christian Academy.

(Shelley Mays/The Tennessean/USA Today/Reuters)

Some polls closed

Tennessee is one 14 states that will be holding primary elections on Super Tuesday, but voting in Nashville and the surrounding area will start an hour later at 8 a.m. local time due to extensive storm damage, state election officials said. Nashville Mayor John Cooper said alternate sites were arranged for 15 polling places out of the 169 precincts in Nashville's combined city-county area.

(Kristin Hill/The Associated Press)