Storm death count rises to 12 in Tenn.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two more Sumner County residents have died of injuries caused by violent tornadoes that swept through Middle Tennessee on Friday, bringing the total number of deaths in Midstate to 12, according to state emergency officials.

Randy Harris, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, said the two people died Friday night at Sumner Regional Medical Center.

Nine confirmed deaths have been reported in Sumner and three in Warren County, Harris said.

Sumner County appeared to be the hardest hit area with an estimated 150 to 160 homes damaged or destroyed, Harris said. I

Another 150 people in Sumner were injured, officials at a news conference said Saturday.

Four crews were on the ground assessing damage, and local officials have asked Gov. Phil Bredesen to declare the county a disaster area.

Heavily damaged subdivisions remain blocked off.

"We're in a search operation now," said Ken Weidner, Director of the Sumner Emergency Management Agency.

In a heavily damaged section of Goodlettsville, a northern suburb of Nashville, Friday's storm sucked up roofs, shattered windows and downed power lines.

But the Goodlettsville KinderCare child care center and the children inside were spared.

Michelle Galbreath, who was there to pick up a co-worker's child, surveyed the damage to nearby buildings and trees and called the still-intact day-care building a miracle.

"This is like the only building that still has a roof and windows," said Galbreath, whose co-worker was stuck in Nashville traffic and unable to reach the center.

Severe damage was also reported across Middle Tennessee.

The Volunteer State had spent the week reeling from severe storms in northwest part of the state that claimed 24 lives.

Tennessee can expect more severe weather outbreaks every few days will "continue for the next couple of weeks, but the frequency will seem to come less," said Frank Strait, a meteorologist at AccuWeather, a commercial weather service based in State College, Pa.

"In the near future, you will probably see severe weather outbreaks again on Wednesday and another one probably a week from Saturday (April 15)," he said.

The succession of tornadoes within a week's time in Tennessee is not unusual, Strait said, despite the relatively low incidence of severe weather outbreaks last year.