NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The death toll from tornadoes that ripped across Tennessee has climbed to at least 25.

Rescuers were searching through shattered neighborhoods for bodies less than a day after the storms ripped across the capital city and other parts of the state as families slept. Authorities say some of the victims died in their beds. The governor declared an emergency and sent the National Guard to help with search-and-rescue efforts. An unspecified number of people were missing.

The tornado in Nashville was just one of three to hit Tennessee early Tuesday. Eighteen people died in Putnam County, Tennessee, officials said Tuesday night, after earlier in the day reporting that 19 had died there.

Fatalities were also reported in Wilson, Davidson and Benton counties.

The twisters shredded more than 140 buildings and buried people in piles of rubble and wrecked basements.

Daybreak revealed landscapes littered with blown-down walls and roofs, snapped power lines and huge broken trees. Schools, courts, transit lines and the state Capitol were closed. More than a dozen polling stations were also damaged, forcing Super Tuesday voters to wait in long lines at alternative sites.