Heavy downpour triggers flooding, killing at least 10

At least 10 people were killed and about 40 others were missing Saturday after catastrophic flash floods swept through central Tennessee, authorities said.

Rob Edwards, chief deputy of the Humphreys County Sheriff ’s Office, said authorities were doing house-tohouse checks in the hardest-hit areas in Humphreys, a rural county of about 18,500 roughly 72 miles west of Nashville. There were “power outages all over the area,” Edwards said in an email. “Complicating issues is the loss of all cellphone coverage from the major carriers,” he added.

Portable communication units were being brought in to help restore service, he said. “We have lost a lot of roads, both rural and major highways,” he said. “In my 28 years, it’s the worst I’ve ever seen it.”

The devastation came after an estimated 8 to 10 inches of rain inundated Dickson, Hickman, Houston and Humphreys counties, the National Weather Service said Saturday morning. By Saturday night, officials were reporting that some areas had gotten more than a foot of rain.

In McEwen, a small community in Humphreys County, just over 17 inches of rain had fallen, setting a new 24-hour rainfall record for the region, the weather service said. Local news channels showed floodwaters submerging houses nearly to their roofs.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said that the state Emergency Operations Center had been activated in Nashville to support water rescues and other urgent requests for help from local officials.

The Dixie Fire tears through Lassen Volcanic National Park in Lassen and Shasta counties. The park had been on pace for a record number of visitors.