Heavy flooding hits the Nashville Tennessee areas
May 4, 2010
Authorities in Tennessee are fearing that there may be many more bodies discovered once all remote areas have been checked following the disastrous rains that struck the state. Now that the Cumberland River has crested, there is a bit more calm in the Nashville area, although the fear and questions remain over just how many people actually were killed.
Central Tennessee was overcome quickly by flash flooding caused by the swelling river, so quickly in fact that many people barely made it to dry land before being swept away by the raging, muddy water. The death toll stands at 28 now across three states, but hope is fading that the number will stand, as recovery slowly is taking place following the record-breaking rainfalls. Authorities are certain that there will be widespread damage in inundated areas and dread the thought of discovering more fatalities in the coming days.
Tennessee was hit very hard by the flood damage, with Nashville receiving the brunt of water damage disaster. Thousands of people fled rapidly rising water and hundreds were rescued-many by boat, with some having to be plucked off their roof tops. Tennessee’s death count stands at seventeen today (May 4) with ten of the deaths occurring in Nashville alone. Six people were killed by the same rainstorms in Mississippi and four in the state of Kentucky.
Nashville is home to the iconic Grand Ole Opry House, which is a main source of income and pride for the city and its residents. One thousand, five hundred visitors to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center were evacuated over the weekend and taken to a shelter as the heart of country music was submerged in several feet of muddy river water. It is thought that it will be months before the hotel is able to re-open.
Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen already has declared fifty-two of the state’s ninety-five counties disaster areas after flying overhead to assess the damage. On Saturday and Sunday alone, 13.5 inches of rain fell on the Nashville area, breaking the old record set decades earlier and sending panic-stricken residents fleeing from their homes. Nearly every single lake, river, creek, stream and drainage system in the area was flooded over. The flood water were so powerful that it washed out bridges and knocked down buildings.
Highways in the area have been closed indefinitely and now look like raging rivers instead of roadways. At least fifty Nashville schools were damaged by the water and for now, the schools are closed. Residents are urged not to venture out onto streets and roads as most coming into and leaving the city are submerged and may be compromised.
Photo courtesy AP
