Tennessee Tornadoes Took 2 Lives, Damaged 500 Buildings

The National Weather Service has upgraded the strength of a tornado that killed a woman and her infant daughter when it hit Murfreesboro last week and said a second tornado touched down in the county.

The weather service office in Nashville said the storm spawned an EF-4 category tornado with winds as high as 170 mph and a second tornado rated at EF-1 south of Murfreesboro that had less severe damage.

The agency has also confirmed two other touchdowns in Sumner and Benton counties that were also part of the severe storm system on Friday and is still working to assess damage in other counties.

Rutherford County Emergency Management Service spokesman Randy White told The Daily News Journal on Monday that preliminary damage estimates already reached $33.4 million and will continue to rise.

Murfreesboro officials say more than 500 structures were damaged by the storm that spawned a deadly tornado last Friday.

Murfreesboro Police Maj. Clyde Adkison said nearly 60 homes were destroyed and hundreds more suffered major and minor damage.

Adkison said the total number of buildings affected will be used by state officials to determine whether the area will be declared a federal disaster area. Gov. Phil Bredesen, during his visit to the area, promised to seek federal assistance.

Most of the electricity was back on and city government was operating normally Monday. City officials say waste department has already collected more than 2.7 million pounds of debris.

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Information from: The Daily News Journal, http://www.dnj.com