Crews Search for Flood Victims in Tennessee
The Cumberland River has finally begun to recede this week, leaving behind homes totally caked in mud and cars ruined by being submerged in muddy flood waters. Officials have begun to search house by house for victims of a record breaking flash flood and weekend thunderstorm damage that is already the cause of thirty deaths. Flood cleanup in Nashville is likely going to last for several months and could costs hundreds of millions of dollars.
Seventeen lives have been claimed thus far just in the state of Tennessee alone, including nine in the city of Nashville. Some of the dead were discovered in their vehicles and others were found in their yards or inside their homes. One twenty-one year old young man was killed when he attempted to walk in flood water but was swept away by the strong current. There are still two young males missing after they attempted to tube down a fast moving creek. One of their friends with them did manage to get himself out of the water and to dry land, but the search goes on for his friends.
Downtown Nashville took a very harsh beating. The Grand Ole Opry House was flooded and remains so today as does the Country Music Hall of Fame. It is estimated that the Opryland Hotel suffered nearly $80 million in damage and will be closed for up to a half a year – the damage was just that bad.
Over a foot of rain was dumped on the area during the weekend which sent flood waters rising rapidly, barely giving people time to escape to higher ground. Hundreds of residents were rescued by various forms of watercraft including jet skis, row boats, speed boats and canoes. Those boat rescues diminished by Tuesday May 4th, but the search goes on for drowning victims who may have become trapped inside their homes or somewhere on their property.
The full extent of the area’s infrastructure damage is not yet known, but officials are aware of many roadways and bridges that were washed away from flood water. FEMA is on the scene assessing the damage and expects to have a good idea of just how much damage was done during this storm that crushed all previous records for being the worst. Barack Obama has declared the affected areas in Tennessee as national disaster areas, making it possible for homeowners and businesses to take advantage of low cost loans and home repair assistance so that they can recover from the devastation and loss suffered.
