The storms turned the Cumberland River that runs through Nashville into a raging as well as numerous smaller tributaries and creeks.

The Major of Nashville Karl Dean declared a state of emergency in Davidson County, where hundreds of people were rescued from the rising waters, and 45,000 people went without power on May 2.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said that seven people died in the raging waters that spanned several counties, while one person was killed when a tornado touched down in Hardeman County.

In Nashville, four more deaths due to the floods were reported on May 2. Two bodies were recovered from a flooded house and two were recovered from a vehicle found upside down in standing water, the mayor's Office of Emergency Management said.

In neighboring Kentucky, the state's emergency management office said two people died in flooding as the storms shifted to the southeast.

The Tennessee agency asked the state's Army National Guard for assistance in rescue operations. Several nursing homes were evacuated and hundreds of people took refuge in emergency shelters across several counties.

More than 150 roads were closed in the middle of the state alone, the Tennessee Highway Patrol said.

More thunderstorms were expected in the region, and emergency officials were urging people not to travel unless absolutely necessary.