TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION
DRAMATIC drone footage captured the carnage caused by tornadoes that ripped apart Tennessee's most populous city early Tuesday morning, killing at least 22 people.
The "supercell" tornadoes wrecked downtown Nashville, turning popular outposts into piles of rubble and creating an extensive landscape of blown-out windows, snapped power lines, and broken trees.
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The death toll may rise given the number of people who are still missing statewide, Governor William Lee said at a news briefing.
Police and fire crews toiled away for hours trying to pull survivors and bodies from the wreckage, which stretched across the city's downtown area and left streets in gridlock.
Rescue teams were going door to door, searching damaged structures for trapped or injured Tennesseans, the Nashville Fire Department said.
By daybreak, beloved landmarks and thousands of homes were pulverized into crumbled walls, debris, and shards of wood - only the jagged remains of some buildings were left standing.
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Basement East, a popular live music venue opened in 2015, is now a "total loss", co-owner Mike Grimes told Rolling Stone on Tuesday.
The hall, a cornerstone of the music community in East Nashville, was hosting a benefit concert for Sen. Bernie Sanders before the tornadoes hit the city of 691,000 at around 1:15am.
Most of the building was in ruin except for a mural painted on the side of the venue depicting a version of the American flag captioned with the phrase "I believe in Nashville."
The mural is now a source of inspiration for Music City residents who will pick up what's left of their lives and ravaged homes in the days to come.
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John C. Tune Airport, Nashville's international sister airport on the city's west side, "sustained significant damage due to severe weather," spokeswoman Kym Gerlock said in a statement early Tuesday.
Although there were no reported injuries, she said several hangars were demolished and power lines were down.
Many of the 48 buildings that were destroyed in the state capital were bars and restaurants.
The bakery of Christie Cookie Co, a shop in the Germantown neighborhood, sustained damage and will be closed until further notice, Nashville Eater reported.
Christie's bakes 48,835 cookies each day, for a total of 16 million a year, Caroline Sloan, Christie's Director of Marketing, told WSMV.
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