Mother and toddler killed in Tennessee tornadoes

A mother and her two-year-old son were killed after tornadoes and several powerful storms ripped across parts of Tennessee on Saturday.

Neighbours say Floriderma Perez, 31, was found clutching her son Anthony after the storm swept through their mobile home near Nashville.

At least six people were killed, as heavy winds reduced buildings to rubble and caused widespread blackouts.

The extreme weather triggered a state of emergency in Tennessee.

Ms Perez and her son were killed along with their neighbour Joseph Dalton, 37, police said. All three lived in a northern suburb of Nashville, the state's capital.

Neighbour Wanda McClemor told local news outlet Channel 5 that she and others had stepped out to look for the child and his mother, after the tornado had picked up one of the mobile homes in their area and flipped it on top of another.

"You could hear them calling for help. But by the time we got out here, there were people already trying to get to them," Ms McClemor said.

She said Ms Perez and her son's bodies were eventually found, with the mother's arms wrapped tightly around the toddler.

"They said they couldn't find her because she was holding him, trying to protect the baby," Ms McClemor said.

Ms Perez's seven-year-old son and Mr Dalton's 10-year-old son suffered non-life threatening injuries, authorities said.

Two more adults and a child were also killed in the city of Clarksville, around 50 miles (80km) to the north-west of Nashville.

A GoFundMe page was set up for the family of the child, 10-year-old Arlan. In it, a family friend said the boy's relatives were reeling from his death as well as losing their home.

"The road to recovery will be long and arduous, both emotionally and financially," they wrote.

Another 62 people in the surrounding area were in hospital with injuries, the Montgomery County government said.

Jimmy Edwards, chief of Montgomery County Emergency Services, described their conditions as "critical" and "unstable".

Wes Golding, the county's mayor, said: "This is a sad day for our community. We are praying for those who are injured, lost loved ones, and lost their homes."

Police said search and rescue efforts were ongoing in the region.

In Nashville, authorities reported "severe damage" in certain areas and asked residents to be wary of downed power lines.

A church nine miles north of Nashville had also collapsed because of the storm, the Nashville Office of Emergency Management said, sending 13 people to hospital.

Videos of the storm's aftermath posted on social media showed overturned cars and uprooted trees littering streets lined by ruined buildings.

Footage captured the funnels of large tornadoes making contact with the ground and bright flashes of lightning across the sky.

On Monday, emergency crews in the area were busy cleaning up and restoring downed power lines. Nearly 18,000 people remained without power as of the morning.