Landslide pulls large homes off bluff and into Tennessee River
Two large homes collapsed into the rainswollen Tennessee River Saturday, and the tumble was proceeded in one case by the eerie sound of cracking, snapping and sparks of electricity, according to a video account.
In an update posted Monday, the Hardin County Fire Department reported an entire street in Savannah, Tennessee, was also showing signs of falling into the river.
Only one of the homes on Glendale Road was occupied when the threat of a landslide became imminent, and the department reported the homeowners were evacuated safely.
The first of the two homes collapsed about an hour after they were evacuated, officials said.
The department reported that the second two-story home tumbled off the bluff midmorning on Sunday.
The collapsed homes were just 20 feet from Glendale Road, which has been closed as a precaution, the department said in a Facebook post.
A 20-second video shared by the fire department late Saturday showed one of the homes fall into the river in the glare of spotlights. Cracking and snapping boards can be heard, then the multistoried home’s green walls begin to move, then fall, as power lines sent sparks into the night.
“Oh my God,” someone is heard saying in the background.
The department reported Monday that cracks had formed in the center of the road. “New video this morning of the landslide at 4810 Glendale road showing the road is also collapsing now,” the department stated.
Drone photos shared by the department show a large section of the riverfront known as Chalk Bluff had fallen into the water, leaving debris scattered as it went. Contents of the homes were spread up and down the hillside.
The names of the homeowners had not been released Sunday.
The collapse came as the department reported the river was at flood stage, following days of heavy rain that fell in the southeastern U.S.
Heavy rain has been blamed for multiple slides involving rocks and mud in the past week across North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee, according to McClatchy News.