Nashville Floods Leave Upstream Rivers, Flooded Roads, Multiple Deaths: NPR

Authorities in Nashville, Tennessee, said four people were killed and 130 rescued after near-record levels of rain caused massive flooding across the region.

He said the Nashville office of emergency management on Sunday morning Update Emergency responders were continuing to rescue operations in the wake of the storm, which sank the area in total 7 inches of rain.

“Although the place looks beautiful outside, we still want to be vigilant and informed, stay alert, and stay alive,” William Swan, director of the Nashville Fire Department, said at an afternoon news conference.

The torrential rains subsided across most of central Tennessee as of midday Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. In Nashville. But parts of the region are still under A. Watch the flood During the evening, officials are asking the public to remain vigilant as rising streams and rivers pose a constant risk of flooding.

The agency said in a. “Continue to avoid flooded roads and to refrain from swimming or walking in flood waters.” Facebook share. “Not only can it wash away unexpectedly, but this water can contain chemicals and wastewater.”

Nashville Mayor John Cooper said about 1,700 customers were still without power as of early Sunday afternoon, down from 4,600 earlier in the morning. He added that first responders are still asking residents to avoid certain areas, and road closures and other conditions can be monitored when responding to emergencies. website.

The Nashville Metro Police Department said it had found the remains of four people believed to have been killed in the floods. one man It was pulled out of a car that was soaked in streaming water; a second A deceased man was found on a golf course and is believed to have been “washed away by high water after getting off a car that got off the road into a well.”

Police later She said They discovered the bodies of a man and a woman near a camp for the displaced in a wooded area affected by floods from a nearby creek.

At the press conference, Nashville Police Chief John Drake attributed three of those deaths to floods from Seven Mile Creek and provided confirmed victims’ ages. He said the man who drowned in his car was 70 years old, the man on the golf course was 65, and the victims in the homeless camp were a 46-year-old woman and a 64-year-old man.

Drake also indicated that an officer at the hospital was recovering from injuries after being swept away by currents while trying to save water. He said that the officer managed to get out of his car and cling to a tree until help arrived, and that the citizen who tried to help was stranded in the process.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Drake warned at the press conference. “This is still going on. Even though the water may not be eventful today, we still have to pay attention to it.”

The mayor also said that the Cumberland River is expected to reach the inundation stage at 40 feet around 1 PM CST, and peak at 41.9 feet shortly after midnight. The Harbeth River passed its 20-foot flood stage early Sunday morning and was expected to reach 27.4 feet around 7 PM local time.

I had the NWS chirp Earlier this morning, there were several rescue operations in waters underway across southern Nashville, describing the situation as life-threatening and citing reports of “people clinging to trees.”

The emergency management office warned that just two feet of moving water could wash a vehicle away. In an update released at 7:30 a.m. local time, he said the Nashville Fire Department has rescued at least 130 people from cars, apartments, and homes.

In one case, authorities said, personnel rescued at least 15 people stranded in a building “whose structure had been compromised by a mudslide.”

First responders also helped rescue about 40 dogs from Camp Bow Wow, a daycare center, and transport them safely to a nearby facility.

Officials said the Office of Emergency Management is working with the American Red Cross to provide shelter for people displaced by the floods. At the press conference, Cooper said that first paramedics were walking on the creek beds and were working with the Red Cross to survey the affected neighborhoods.

“As always, people in Nashville help each other through tough times. This is no exception,” Cooper said. “Please wear masks, communicate and lend a helping hand to your neighbors.”

In the hard-hit county of Rutherford, it was Sheriff office On Sunday morning, she said she was responding to reports of rescues in the water and people driving on water-covered roads, and urge People should not remove warning signs or warning tape.

49 roads were completely closed, 35 partially closed, and 12 roads reopened, according to A. Online dashboard Updated by the province.

Residents of the Nashville area have taken to social media to share her photos and videos Flooded roadsAnd Submerged vehicles And Cleaning efforts Work is taking place on Sunday.

Officials draw comparisons with Historic floods In Nashville and the surrounding area, killing at least 29 people and displacing thousands in May 2010.

“The downpour that we got yesterday and overnight made these periods some of the wettest periods in a 24-hour period in Nashville’s history,” said Sam Schamberger, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. Tennessee. “It is the worst flood event that we have seen since the May 2010 flood. But the main difference is that this event affected a much smaller area than the 2010 flood.”

The NWS said early Sunday that Nashville’s total precipitation of 6.69 inches constitutes the second largest In its history, Surpassing the previous record set in September 1979 and behind the 13.57 inches recorded on May 1-2, 2010.

The Harbeth River is expected to rise to 34.8 feet Sunday night, according to the agency Added, Which will be the third highest on record. Aerial photos Taken by the Franklin Fire Department at around 11:30 a.m. local time, it shows that the river is indeed starting to flow.

Scott Potter, director of Metro Water Services, said in the briefing that the water facilities are safe and that he is unconcerned about the impact of river level rise, referring to projected peaks lower than those in May 2010 and the improvements the facilities have introduced. Since then.

The mayor also noted that lessons learned from the 2010 flood helped the city prepare for an “improved flood response” in the form of well-trained rapid water rescue teams and better sharing of information in real time between metro departments.