A string of powerful tornadoes killed at least six people, including a child, and left a trail of destruction in Tennessee as it ripped roofs from houses and left tens of thousands without power.

The severe weekend storms also sent dozens more to the hospital after turning over vehicles and causing an entire church to collapse.

Three people died in a suburb of Nashville, the southeastern state’s capital, while photos posted by the city’s office of emergency management showed downed trees and collapsed homes.

“Unfortunately we can confirm there are three fatalities as a result of the severe weather on Nesbitt Lane,” the office wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In the city of Clarksville, about 40 miles (65km) away, two adults and one child were killed by a tornado, according to a statement from the Montgomery County government.

Shelters were set up in Clarksville as well as Nashville and its suburbs as local authorities moved to help those who may have been temporarily displaced.

About 35,000 people in Tennessee were left without power as of Sunday evening, according to outage tracking website poweroutage.us.

“The road to recovery is going to take time and we ask that citizens who are not directly involved in search, rescue, or recovery efforts to avoid the impacted areas,” the Clarksville Police Department said on its Facebook page on Sunday.

“Emergency crews are working as quickly as possible.”

About 60 people were treated for injuries in Montgomery County, local authorities said.

In Nashville, city officials reported 21 wounded. A church north of downtown collapsed during the storm, resulting in 13 people being treated at hospitals, emergency officials said.

They were later listed in stable condition.

The sanctuary and activities building at Community Baptist Church in Nashville were totally demolished, Donella Johnson, the wife of the church’s pastor, said in a Facebook video.

Several members caught by the damage had emergency surgeries for broken hips and legs, she said.

At least six tornado tracks were reported on Saturday in central Tennessee, according to the National Weather Service.

The service dispatched tracking teams on Sunday to attempt to confirm these potential tornadoes and calculate their severity.

Residents in the region are familiar with severe weather at this time of year.

Saturday’s storm came nearly two years to the day after the National Weather Service recorded 41 tornadoes through a handful of states, including 16 in Tennessee and eight in Kentucky. A total of 81 people died in Kentucky alone.