In one of the most shamefully underreported stories so far, the fatal flooding in Nashville, Tennessee, continues to get worse as the river approaches its crest. The entirety of downtown Nashville had to be evacuated, including 1500 people from the Opryland Hotel. The flood waters from the storm system have caused the deaths of 17 people in Tennessee alone, plus more in Mississippi and Kentucky (fortunately there’s been little flooding in Louisville, just storms). The entire Middle Tennessee area is paralyzed by massive flooding, mud slides, and general destruction. It’s awful. The best coverage, though, is the local coverage, as compiled by Nashvillest.
When riots for democracy hit Iran, Twitter was an invaluable resource. Over the last day, as I struggled to slay the technical demons besieging PopFi, Twitter was the most useful resource for all my friends and family in Music City to keep abreast of the situation in real time. Fortunately, they’ve all made it out safely, though I had a couple of sleepless nights in the process.
It’s a situation that’s still bad, by the way. One of Nashville’s water treatment plants is offline, so the city is short on water. Thousands of people are without homes, and thousands more are stuck in their homes thanks to flooding. Nashville’s civic institutions, like the home of the Nashville Predators (Bridgestone Arena), the Tennessee Titans’ LP Field, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Grand Ol’ Opry, and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center are underwater. One look at the Nashvillest Flickr pool will show you that it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
I encourage everyone to help out by donating to one of the relief organizations on the ground in the city.
Image: WJB13
Tags: Nashville, flooding, Nashville flood, natural disasters, Music City, storm damage, flood of 2010, unusual images, nature’s fury, Opryland, Grand Ol’ Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashvillest