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(CNN) - Heavy storms and at least one tornado swept through Nashville and a middle strip of Tennessee late this Monday and early Tuesday, killing at least 9 people, including two in the state capital, and leaving a series of houses and other buildings in remains.
Tens of thousands were left without power in the region on Tuesday morning, while officials rushed to understand the full extent of the damage.
Tornadoes were reported at least three times along a 233-kilometer stretch, from the small town of Camden, just after 11 p.m. CT, through Nashville after midnight, and in the Cookeville area of the county from Putnam shortly before 2 am, said the National Weather Service.
The Nashville Fire Department is responding to approximately 40 collapsed structures around the city, according to an agency tweet.
Rescuers are focusing their efforts on Germantown, East Nashville and Hermitage, according to Joseph Pleasant, spokesman for the Nashville Office of Emergency Management.
About 20 people are in hospitals in the Nashville area due to damage from tornadoes or storms in the city, Mayor John Cooper told WTVF, a CNN affiliate.
"There are a couple of tragic cases, in one case a tree that falls on a car and I also think there are about 20 people in the hospital, so we must control it very carefully," Cooper said. "We all worry that some people have stayed in some buildings that have been damaged and I know that first responders are solving the problem."
Police look for injuries in Mount Juliet
Police in Mount Juliet, a suburb 32 kilometers east of Nashville, are looking for injured people. “There are several damaged homes and multiple injuries. We have requested mutual help from partner agencies. We continue to look for injuries, ”said a department tweet.
A shelter for those displaced by the tornado has been opened at Victoria Baptist Church on Tate Lane in Mt. Juliet, according to a tweet.
In Putnam County, there are "several people seriously injured," county mayor Randy Porter told CNN in a Facebook message. The county suffered damage to several houses and power lines, he said.
In a Facebook post, the Putnam County Sheriff's Department confirmed that a tornado landed between the city limits of Cookeville and Baxter.
The Putnam County Sheriff Department says some of the most affected areas are in Charleton Square, Plunk Whitson, Echo Valley and Prosperity Point.
Several injuries have been reported in the city of Cookeville, said Mayor Ricky Shelton.
The Cookeville Community Center opened as an emergency shelter, Porter said in a Facebook post.
The Nashville Emergency Center Office was partially activated to respond to damage caused by bad weather, according to a tweet from the center. They have opened an emergency shelter at the Farmers Market on Rosa L. Parks Blvd. The Red Cross has been notified and is responding to help displaced residents, the EOC said.
Twister