ANKARA 

At least 22 people died in the U.S. state of Tennessee as a result of heavy storms, emergency officials announced Tuesday.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) confirmed the fatalities on its website, saying severe weather and tornados affected several counties in Tennessee.

"Counties with the greatest impacts include; Davidson, Wilson, and Putnam Counties," said the agency. 

According to authorities, the death toll is feared to rise after violent storms ripped through the state late Monday and early Tuesday. 

Earlier, TEMA said the storms caused "major damage" to buildings, roads, bridges, utilities and businesses in the state. 

Tornado damage has been reported throughout West and Middle Tennessee, including downtown Nashville, it added.

U.S. President Donald Trump sent "our love and our prayers of the nation to every family that was affected" and said he would visit the state Friday. 

"We will get there and we will recover and we will rebuild and we will help them," Trump said in an address to the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference. 

A state of emergency has been declared in Tennessee.