Rains cause flash floods, 4 deaths in Tennessee
Torrential rains across Tennessee flooded homes and at least one church and left roads impassable, prompting dozens of people to be rescued in the Nashville area. Authorities said four bodies were found Sunday in the flood’s aftermath.
Nashville received more than 7 inches of rain, the second-highest two-day rainfall total ever recorded, Mayor John Cooper said at a news conference Sunday.
At least one church canceled in-person Palm Sunday services. The New Tribe Church in Mt. Juliet said on Facebook that knee-deep water flooded the building, busted out the glass of its front entrance and sent chairs through a hallway.
“I am smiling but our hearts are devastated,” Pastor Jarod Smith said at the start of an online service. “We are standing in our worship center and there’s just not enough words to describe what it actually looks like.”
Nashville Fire Chief William Swann said swift-water teams were placed on standby in anticipation of the storms. At least 130 people were rescued from cars, apartments and homes, while about 40 dogs were moved from a Nashville boarding kennel to another location.
Cooper said first responders walked along creek beds Sunday and worked with the Red Cross to canvass affected neighborhoods.
To the south in Williamson County, over 34 swift-water rescues were carried out, according to county Emergency Management Agency Director Todd Horton. As many as 18 homes in one neighborhood had to be evacuated.
A portion of Interstate 40 was temporarily shut down due to high water that stranded a vehicle and its driver. The driver was able to get out of the vehicle and to safety, the Tennessee Highway Patrol in Nashville tweeted. First responders also told drivers to avoid part of I-24 south of Nashville.
Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said three bodies were found after Seven Mile Creek flooded. The body of a 70-year-old man whose car was submerged in the creek was found behind a store, and the bodies of a 46-year-old woman and a 64-year-old man were found in a wooded area near a homeless camp.
Drake said a 65-year-old man’s body was found on a golf course. Police later identified him on Twitter as Douglas Hammond, who lived nearby and was swept away as he got out of his car that had become stuck in floodwaters.