( CNN ) -- A mother and her infant were killed by a tornado that hit Murfreesboro , Tennessee , on Friday , a family member told CNN . Powerful tornado winds ripped through Murfreesboro , Tennessee , Friday , leaving a trail of destruction . About 36 people were injured , at least two of them critically , officials said . Early Saturday , officials said about 250 homes had been damaged or destroyed . The woman who was killed , Kori Bryant , was at home with her daughter , Olivia , when the tornado struck , said family member Mark McClure . Another family member , who found the mother and daughter after the tornado , said attempts were made to resuscitate the infant , but she could n't be saved , according to McClure . The baby was found in her car seat . Her parents had put her in the seat , thinking it would be safer for her , McClure said . The Bryants were in the hallway with the baby when the tornado struck . The woman 's husband , John Bryant , was found about two houses away , McClure said . His back and ribs were broken , and a lung had collapsed . He was taken to Vanderbilt University Hospital , and he will undergo surgery when his blood pressure stabilizes , McClure said . John 's brother told him yesterday that his wife and daughter had died , McClure said . The bad weather began about noon when a band of severe thunderstorms swept across the state from the southwest , said Donnie Smith , a public information officer with the Tennessee Department of Emergency Management in Nashville . Just before 1:40 p.m. , the tornado hit Murfreesboro in Rutherford County , 30 miles southeast of Nashville , he said . Thirty-six people were treated for tornado-related injuries at Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro , said hospital spokeswoman Martha Tolbert . The search-and-rescue effort was continuing into the evening , Smith said . Watch damage caused by tornado in Murfreesboro » . Elsewhere in the region , the town of Mena , Arkansas , is cleaning up after a tornado roared through , killing three people and damaging or destroying more than 100 homes , an Arkansas official said . The town looked like a `` war zone '' as soldiers from the Arkansas National Guard went house to house searching for victims of the twister that hit Thursday night , said Capt . Christopher Heathscott . About 50 soldiers also helped with security and food distribution . Mena , population 6,000 , took a heavy hit on the west side of town , as the storm swept through downtown before heading up state Highway 71 , said Tommy Jackson from the state Department of Emergency Management . `` It looks like a war zone out here , '' said James Reeves , also from the department . Watch scenes of devastation in Mena » . The tornado damaged the county hospital , Mena City Hall , a middle school , churches , a library , the Masonic lodge and the courthouse -- which houses the 911 emergency dispatch center and a detention center , Reeves said . He said electricity and gas were out in the western half of the city . Two plants at an industrial park were destroyed , said reporter Charles Crowson of CNN affiliate KTHV-TV . He said utility crews were trying to stop a gas leak there . Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told Crowson the county detention center was `` uninhabitable . '' There were 18 inmates in the jail at the time of the tornado , and they were moved to neighboring jurisdictions , he said . iReport.com : Are you there ? Send photos , video . CNN 's Melissa Roberts and Dave Alsup contributed to this report .
NEW : Parents in hallway with baby in car seat when tornado hit Murfreesboro . Mother died , father found two houses away when tornado hit . Tornado hit Mena , Arkansas , on Thursday ; 3 people confirmed dead .