Tennessee floods claims lives and displaces thousands

The weekend storm in Tennessee has caused “Music City” to look like a series of small islands. The weekend storm claimed the lives of 28 people in the states of Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi. MSNBC reports officials fear the death toll may raise.

Flash floods caused thousands of residents and hotel guests to evacuate their homes. Also affected by the flood waters are the Country Music Hall of Fame and The Grand Ole Opry House as the Cumberland River rose 12 feet above flood stage.

MSNBC reports, “Though the rain stopped falling on Monday, the river continued to inch upward and authorities and volunteers in fishing boats, an amphibious tour bus and a canoe scooped up about 500 trapped vacationers at the Wyndham Resort along the river near Opryland.

“…Rescuers had to steer through a maze of underwater hazards including submerged cars, some with their tops barely visible above floodwaters the color of milk chocolate.”

Emergency Shelters Set Up

The rain and tornadoes destroyed thousands of home; many did not have flood insurance coverage. Most of the flooding occurred outside of Nashville and in the middle and western parts of Tennessee. The American Red Cross has set up over two dozen emergency shelters in the states affected by the floods. Use this tool to find a Red Cross Shelter near you.

Volunteer and Donate:

• Hands On Nashville (on behalf of the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management)
• Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee – Metro Nashville Disaster Relief Fund
• Middle Tennessee Red Cross Chapter
• More information on how you can help

Other Information:

• Emergency shelters. There are seven shelters open across the city for folks who have been flooded out of their homes or stranded on the road somewhere. Check the list at Middle Tennessee Red Cross.
• Flood assistance. Those in need of shelter or assistance can reach the Red Cross at (615) 250-4300. For non-emergencies, call (615) 862-8574.
• Weather updates. The weather is expected to get worse over the next 24-36 hours with lots more rain on the way. Check your local forecast and sign up for text message or e-mail alerts over at The Weather Channel, see localized coverage at NashvilleWX, and tune into NOAA if you’ve got a weather radio handy. We also hear that 99.7 FM is giving great updates in case of a power outage.
• Flood closures
• Traffic. Roads are closing all over the city and traffic is a mess. Some of the best resources we’ve found have been the TDOT Smartmap and the Tennessean’s realtime traffic map. You can also read and share Nashville road closures and traffic conditions on Twitter @NashTraffic. For Franklin Road closures, follow @FranklinTraffic on Twitter.

Document recovery : drying wet documents, books and photos