Federal officials have been dispatched to Tennessee by President Obama Tuesday to assess the damage from historic rainfall and widespread flooding, which killed 19 people in the state – 10 in Nashville. Rising waters have leveled off, but concern is growing over a drinking water system on life support and the fire hazard posed by thousands of flooded and vacant homes.
The Cumberland River continues to threaten lives after weekend rains dropped nearly 14 inches over the Nashville area.
A team from the Franklin Fire Department enters the water near Pennington Bend to convince homeowners who rode out the storm to leave.
Six firemen dressed in life jacket haul their red rescue raft back into the water at Pennington Bend, near the flooded Opryland Hotel. In this riverside neighborhood, rescue teams hauled people out of their houses Sunday night when the river was on the rise. Mike Culberson tells his men the water is still dangerous.
CULBERSON: “Remember you got the green boxes that are still hot. If you see folks that are living in their houses, don’t know when the water is going down, but you cannot make them come out. “
Two men return to a Pennington Bend home in a borrowed canoe.
Culberson says people don’t think about the heightened risk of house fires in a flood. One scenario – a gas can empties in a garage near a water heater.
CULBERSON: “Fumes build up in an enclosed garage. Pilot light comes on, woof. I’ve seen it blow garage doors from here to that boat.”
So far the floodwaters have been the killer, sweeping cars off roads and drowning people in their homes. The Cumberland River submerged many downtown Nashville landmarks Monday, such as the Schermerhorn Symphony Center and the Country Music Hall of Fame. As a precaution, power has been shut off to many downtown buildings.
People are still not allowed anywhere near a three mile-long levy that protects a business park known as Metro Center. Police officers are still turning everyone around who tries to enter.
DRIVER: “They ain’t going to be open no time soon?”
OFFICER: “Not until it’s safe to enter.”
Rebecca Wiesner drives a FedEx delivery truck based out of MetroCenter.
Even business owners are turned away. Rebecca Weisner is a contractor for FedEx, whose truck is parked behind the leaking levy. With damage estimates starting out in the billions of dollars, Wiesner says the stoppage of her shipping business is a small price, but it won’t be if the levy gives way.
WIESNER: “If this breaks, eww, it’s definitely going to be more than minor.”
Engineers continue to monitor the leaking and continue to keep everyone out for fear of a catastrophic failure.
The guard shack at the Omohundro water treatment plant – the only one still operating – took on water from the Cumberland River.
Also at risk of failure, is the city’s water system, which only has two two water treatment plants and one of them is underwater. Department chief Scott Potter says it’s impossible to say when it could be revived.
POTTER: “Most of the facilities are underwater. So once we can get the floodwaters down and get in and do a physical inspection, we’ll have a better idea.”
The city has asked its 600,000 residents to cut their water use by half, telling them to limit showers, laundry and even flushing the toilet to keep the system from running dry. So all the water that swamped Tennessee could leave hundreds of thousands without it.
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