'Pretty much like an explosion': Day after brutal Nashville tornadoes that killed 25 people, 3 still missing

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Thousands of residents were without power Wednesday, hampering efforts to locate those still missing from devastating tornadoes that killed at least 25 and damaged or destroyed homes, businesses, schools and churches across four counties.

In hard-hit Putnam County, 18 people were killed, including five children under 13, Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said. Two people died in Nashville, four in Wilson County and one in Benton County. 

Porter said at least two were in critical condition at a Nashville hospital and three people were still missing. 

In Cookeville, more than 100 homes and businesses were damaged, and many were reduced to rubble. Emergency responders fear more victims may be trapped in basements or under debris.

The twister slammed the Cookeville area early Tuesday morning, leveling homes and businesses and snapping trees and utility poles.  At least one storm also ripped across Benton, Davidson and Wilson counties.

Soldiers and Airmen with the Tennessee National Guard have been activated to help disaster emergency teams in Davidson, Wilson and Putnam counties. 

National Weather Service survey teams indicated that the damage in Nashville and Wilson County to the east was inflicted by a tornado of at least EF3 intensity, with wind speeds up to 165 mph, the agency said.

Porter said tractor-trailers were hauling loads of water into the county from across the state and beyond. Sheriff's deputies were also combing debris sites and fields looking for any additional victims.

How the tornado tragedy unfolded:A look at what happened in hardest-hit areas

Putnam Sheriff Eddie Farris said about 40% of the rubble still needs to be searched, including a 25-acre field with marshy vegetation reaching 7 feet high.

Officials said it could be weeks before some areas in the county are accessible for travel.

Nearly 40,000 people remained without power on Wednesday night, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. 

Cookeville Mayor Ricky Shelton said he was grateful for sunshine on Wednesday that would help recovery teams and is "anxious to move this along and our community to bounce back."

Chris Mabry spent Tuesday sorting through debris that landed in his kitchen from rooms upstairs, a few feet from the couch where he thankfully didn’t fall asleep last night.

“I feel very fortunate,” he said. “My kids are alive. I’m alive. And we eventually found my dog.”

His badly damaged house was still standing, while six other houses nearby were flattened. The twister also tossed around cars, leveled houses and rendered some neighborhoods unrecognizable.

In East Nashville, over 30 businesses were destroyed, some completely wiped out. Basement East, a popular music venue, was severely damaged, although the “I Believe in Nashville” mural was intact on an exterior wall.

Caleb Smucker was at a Bernie Sanders benefit concert Monday night and left about an hour before the winds tore the Basement East building apart. The building partially collapsed on itself, leaving a gaping hole filling with spewing water where the stage stood only hours earlier. 

In Mount Juliet, where the Triple Crown neighborhood was among the hardest-hit areas, churches morphed into shelters as residents found themselves homeless after the storms.

"I thought we were going to die," Barbara Shirley said at a shelter set up at Victory Baptist Church in Mount Juliet. "I thought this was the end."

"It was pretty much like an explosion. It blew out the windows and literally blew our closet door open. A lot of debris. But thankfully, we didn't get hurt."

Whitney and Estes reported from Nashville and Cookeville for The Tennessean