Torrential rains leave 29 dead in US south
Source: Agencies |
May 5, 2010, Wednesday
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RESCUERS feared even more bodies would emerge as muddy flood waters ebb from torrential weekend rains that swamped Nashville, much of Tennessee and two neighboring American states, leaving at least 29 dead.
The Cumberland River that has submerged parts of Nashville's historic downtown was expected to start receding today after being swollen by flash floods in creeks that feed into it.
Residents and authorities know they'll find widespread property damage in inundated areas, but dread even more devastating discoveries.
"Those in houses that have been flooded and some of those more remote areas, do we suspect we will find more people? Probably so," Nashville Fire Chief Kim Lawson said. "We certainly hope that it's not a large number."
Thousands of people fled rising water and hundreds were rescued, but bodies were recovered on Monday from homes, a yard, even a wooded area outside a Nashville supermarket. By Monday night, the rapidly rising waters were blamed in the deaths of 18 people in Tennessee alone, including 10 in Nashville.
The weekend storms also killed six people in Mississippi and four in Kentucky, including one man whose truck ran off the road and into a flooded creek. One person was killed by a tornado in western Tennessee.
In Nashville, the Cumberland also deluged some of the city's most important revenue sources: the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center, whose 1,500 guests were whisked to a shelter; the adjacent Opry Mills Mall; even the Grand Ole Opry House, considered by many to be the heart of country music.
The severity of the storms caught everyone off guard. More than 343 millimeters of rainfall were recorded on Saturday and Sunday, according to the National Weather Service, making for a new two-day record that doubled the previous mark.
The Cumberland River that has submerged parts of Nashville's historic downtown was expected to start receding today after being swollen by flash floods in creeks that feed into it.
Residents and authorities know they'll find widespread property damage in inundated areas, but dread even more devastating discoveries.
"Those in houses that have been flooded and some of those more remote areas, do we suspect we will find more people? Probably so," Nashville Fire Chief Kim Lawson said. "We certainly hope that it's not a large number."
Thousands of people fled rising water and hundreds were rescued, but bodies were recovered on Monday from homes, a yard, even a wooded area outside a Nashville supermarket. By Monday night, the rapidly rising waters were blamed in the deaths of 18 people in Tennessee alone, including 10 in Nashville.
The weekend storms also killed six people in Mississippi and four in Kentucky, including one man whose truck ran off the road and into a flooded creek. One person was killed by a tornado in western Tennessee.
In Nashville, the Cumberland also deluged some of the city's most important revenue sources: the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center, whose 1,500 guests were whisked to a shelter; the adjacent Opry Mills Mall; even the Grand Ole Opry House, considered by many to be the heart of country music.
The severity of the storms caught everyone off guard. More than 343 millimeters of rainfall were recorded on Saturday and Sunday, according to the National Weather Service, making for a new two-day record that doubled the previous mark.
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