At least two people were killed when a tornado struck parts of Nashville and eastern communities early Tuesday, triggering warning sirens and damaging homes and buildings and causing some injuries, according to officials and reports.

Metro Nashville police reported that two deaths had been reported in east Nashville.

Police in Mount Juliet, which is east of the city, reported that the town of around 30,000 was “impacted significantly” with multiple homes damaged and multiple injuries.

“We have requested mutual aid from allied agencies. We continue to search for injured. Stay home if you can. Watch for downed power lines,” the police department tweeted.

The tornado was spotted northwest of downtown Nashville and hit parts of the city, according to the National Weather Service. The hardest-hit areas were Mount Juliet and Lebanon, Faith Borden, meteorologist for the weather service’s Nashville office, said in a phone interview.

Nashville’s fire department tweeted that it was responding to reports of 40 structure collapses around Nashville.

Nashville police said that there were multiple buildings with damage, primarily in the downtown and east precincts.

“Emergency responders are working to ensure persons can get out and secure the areas,” police said.

The sheriff’s office in Wilson County, which is where Mount Juliet and Lebanon are located, reported “extensive damage to many homes” and road hazards.”

Local CBS affiliate News Channel 5 posted photos of downed power lines and damaged buildings in east Nashville, including one home that looked destroyed. The station reported that there was severe damage in parts of the city, including in Germantown. Council member Brett Withers tweeted that the Five Points neighborhood took a direct hit.

Video posted to Twitter showed what appeared to be extensive damage to an apartment complex.

Main Street in east Nashville was closed at 1:30 a.m. and covered in half-fallen trees and other debris, The Tennessean newspaper of Nashville reported. Part of a building had also collapsed onto the road, the newspaper reported. Photos showed what appeared to be heavy damage to some buildings and vehicles.

The tornado was spotted in the Nashville area around 12:30 a.m. Warnings were issued for people to take cover as the storm moved east.

Nashville’s emergency operations center was partially activated to respond to the severe weather.

The National Weather Service had said Monday afternoon that parts of Tennessee had an elevated risk of severe thunderstorms. Tornado watches covered parts of middle Tennessee early Tuesday.

Tornado warnings had been in place for the communities of Cookeville, Monterey and Baxter early Tuesday, according to the weather service.

The weather service said that as of 2:50 a.m. there were no longer tornado warnings in middle Tennessee, but warned that storms in the area had lightning and heavy rain and that 40-50 mph winds were possible. “Storms could quickly become severe, so stay alert!” the weather service tweeted.