By Kami Klein

After midnight and in the early morning hours of March 3rd, 2020 alarms sounded throughout Central Tennessee as 3 tornadoes ripped through 3 separate counties. Most were sleeping, unaware of the danger and urgency. When morning broke, 24 people would be dead including 5 children, over 140 homes and businesses would be flattened, injured people trapped within the rubble and communities shell-shocked, describing the scene as a war zone.

Billy Wallace hugs his dad Bill after a tornado ripped through Bill’s neighborhood destroying his home in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, U.S. March 3, 2020. Larry McCormack/The Tennessean via USA TODAY via REUTERS

At least 18 of the dead were in Putnam County, about 70 miles east of Nashville. Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter reported in a Wednesday morning press conference that five of the victims were under the age of 13. Rescuer workers are still looking for 18 people that have been reported missing.

East Nashville was heavily damaged and reported two fatalities with many injured. 3 others were killed in Wilson County as well as the death of a 67-year-old man in Benton County.

Power outages are affecting tens of thousands while teams of emergency personnel continue to search for survivors. Crews plan to focus today on a 20-acre marshy area where several pieces of tornado debris landed, as well as searching neighborhoods according to Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris.

In a news conference, Nashville Mayor John Cooper said the city had responded to 400 calls for help overnight and treated 156 people at the hospital, WTVF reported. Almost 50 buildings collapsed, but many more are damaged.

A man views damage in an alley behind Woodland Street after a tornado touched down in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. March 3, 2020. REUTERS/Harrison McClary

Prayers have been asked for by the Governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee who has declared a state emergency. “We have activated the State Emergency Operations Center and are engaged with emergency and local officials throughout the affected areas. Please join Maria and me in praying for the victims, their families, and all those tragically affected by this storm.”

President Donald Trump is expected to visit the area on Friday and said in a press statement, “We send our love and our prayers of the nation to every family that was affected. We will get there, and we will recover, we will rebuild, and we will help them.”