- 2010 Tennessee floods
-
For Arkansas floods in June 2010, see 2010 Arkansas floods.
May 2010 Tennessee floods Nashville, Tennessee suffered extensive flooding, especially in areas close to the Cumberland River, Mill Creek, and Harpeth River.
Duration: April 30 - May 7, 2010 Fatalities: 31 dead in TN, KY and MS Damages: 2.3 billion Areas affected: Tennessee, south central Kentucky, northern Mississippi The May 2010 Tennessee floods were 1000-year[1] floods in Middle Tennessee, West Tennessee, south-central and western Kentucky and northern Mississippi as the result of torrential rains on May 1 and 2, 2010. Floods from these rains affected the area for several days afterwards, resulting in a number of deaths and widespread property damage.[2]
Two-day rain totals in some areas were greater than 19 inches (480 mm).[3] The Cumberland River crested at 51.86 feet (15.81 m) in Nashville, a level not seen since 1937, which was before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control measures were in place. All-time record crests were observed on the Cumberland River at Clarksville, the Duck River at Centerville and Hurricane Mills, the Buffalo River at Lobelville, the Harpeth River at Kingston Springs and Bellevue, and the Red River at Port Royal.[4]
Contents
Meteorology
Radar estimated precipitation showing West Tennessee, including the Forked Deer River
According to the Memphis Office of the National Weather Service:
A significant weather system brought very heavy rain and severe thunderstorms from Saturday, May 1 through Sunday morning, May 2. A stalled frontal boundary coupled with very moist air streaming northward from the Gulf set the stage for repeated rounds of heavy rainfall. Many locations along the I-40 corridor across western and middle Tennessee reported in excess of 10 to 15 inches, with some locations receiving up to 20 inches according to Doppler radar estimates.[5]
Several rainfall records in the Nashville area were broken during the rain event. 13.57 inches (345 mm) fell during the two-day period of May 1–2, doubling the record of 6.68 inches (170 mm) set in September 1979 during the passage of the remnants of Hurricane Frederic. On May 2 alone, 7.25 inches (184 mm) of rain fell, including 7.20 inches (183 mm) during a 12-hour period and 5.57 inches (141 mm) in a 6-hour period, eclipsing records set on September 13, 1979. The event also set a record for wettest May on record, surpassing the record set in May 1983 with 11.84 inches (301 mm).[4][6]
Heavy rain also affected large portions of Arkansas, northern Mississippi and southern Kentucky. In Arkansas, over 5 inches (130 mm) fell in the Little Rock area, up to 8 inches (200 mm) in West Memphis and over 10 inches (250 mm) in northeastern Arkansas closer to the Mississippi River. Similar amounts were recorded across western and southern Kentucky where over 7 inches (180 mm) fell in the Hopkinsville area and up to 4 inches (100 mm) across the Missouri Bootheel. In addition to the heavy rain, moist air and ample instability contributed to the generation of multiple tornadoes affecting the same areas, which killed five persons: four in Mississippi during the early hours of May 2, and one in Arkansas during the evening of April 30.[7][8]
Casualties
Twenty-one deaths were recorded in Tennessee, including ten in Davidson County, which includes Nashville.[9] Of the ten dead in Davidson County, "four victims were found in their homes, two were in cars and four were outdoors."[10]
Floods killed six people in northern Mississippi, and four deaths were reported in Kentucky.[11]
Mississippi deaths occurred in the following counties:[12]
- Alcorn County – one dead
- Benton County – two dead
- Lafayette County – one dead
- Lee County – one dead in hydroplaning accident on U.S. Route 45 in Tupelo
- Union County – one dead in hydroplaning accident on Mississippi Route 78
Damage
Flooding on the Cumberland River damaged the Grand Ole Opry House, Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, Opry Mills Mall, Bridgestone Arena[13] (home to NHL team Nashville Predators), and LP Field (home to NFL team Tennessee Titans) with several feet of water.[14] Grand Ole Opry performances were moved to other venues in the Nashville area, with the Ryman Auditorium serving as the primary venue when it is available. Other venues hosting the Opry include the War Memorial Auditorium, TPAC's Andrew Jackson Hall, Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Lipscomb University's Allen Arena and the Two Rivers Baptist Church. Both the Ryman and War Memorial Auditoriums were previous homes to the Opry. None of these facilities were affected by the floods.
Flooding at Symphony Place in NashvilleThe basement flooded in Schermerhorn Symphony Center, causing the destruction of two Steinway grand concert pianos and one organ valued at $2.5 million.[15]
The common areas of the Gaylord Opryland Hotel were destroyed, and parts of the hotel were under 10 feet (3 m) of water at the peak of the floods.[15]
Flooding was reported in a mechanical room of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, but the exhibits were not damaged.[15]
The playing field, ground level facilities (such as locker rooms), and service entrance of LP Field were under water.[15]
40 feet (12 m) of water filled the underground parking garage of The Pinnacle at Symphony Place, a 417-foot (127 m) tower in downtown that opened in February 2010, less than three months before the flood. Electric and elevator systems housed in the garage were damaged.[16]
In Belle Meade, an upscale neighborhood of Nashville, the ground floor of St. George's Episcopal Church was flooded.[15]
In the early morning of May 4, flooding at a Nashville Electric Service substation caused power to go out in the center of the city. Among the buildings that lost electricity was the 617-foot (188 m) AT&T Building, the tallest building in Tennessee. Power was not expected to be restored until Friday, May 7.[17]
Nashville/Davidson County was declared a Federal Disaster Area on May 4.[18]
At least 30 counties in Tennessee were declared major disaster areas by the federal government, with 52 applying to receive this status. This translates to about 31% of Tennessee being designated a major disaster area.[19]
According to Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, damage estimates in Nashville totalled $1.5 billion not including damage to roads and bridges or public buildings, as well as contents inside buildings and residences.[20]
Almost all schools in the area were closed including Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, some for a week or more.
Relief Efforts
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has raised $14 million from individual donors and is being allocated in various grants that will maximize the effect of contributions from the community to recover. The Metro Nashville Disaster Response Fund has received roughly $3.5 million, the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund around $5.5 million, the River Fund $5 million, and other relief efforts have received $234,000.
The River Fund was created with proceeds from Garth Brooks' December 2010 concerts for flood relief and serves the 52 flood-affected counties in Tennessee.
On June 22, 2010, a benefit concert called "Nashville Rising" was held at Bridgestone Area to raise money for Middle Tennessee flood relief efforts. The event was a collaborate effort between artists, organizers, sponsors, and volunteers from the Music City community. There were performances by Faith Hill & Tim McGraw (who spearheaded the event), Amy Grant, Billy Ray Cyrus, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Julie Roberts, LeAnn Rimes, Luke Bryan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Martina McBride, Michael W. Smith, Miley Cyrus, Miranda Lambert, Montgomery Gentry, Taylor Swift, Toby Keith, ZZ Top, and special appearances by Sandra Bullock, Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher and Titans quarterback Vince Young, as well as video messages from Reese Witherspoon, Matthew McConaughey, Craig Ferguson and Dolly Parton. The concert raised over $2.2 million for flood relief efforts [21].
References
- ^ "Flood A 1000-Year Event". Knoxville News Sentinel. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/may/06/flood-a-1000-year-event/. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
- ^ 20 confirmed dead in Tennessee The Tennessean, May 2, 2010
- ^ "Weekend Rainfall Totals". National Weather Service. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=ohx&storyid=51806&source=0. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
- ^ a b "Epic Flood Event of May 2010". National Weather Service. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=ohx&storyid=51780&source=0. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ^ "Total of 13 Tornadoes So Far from the May 1-2 Outbreak". National Weather Service. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/meg/?n=may2surveyinfo. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ "Flood of May 2010". NWS Nashville. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=ohx&storyid=51976&source=0. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
- ^ "Severe Weather/Heavy Rain on April 30 - May 1, 2010". NWS Little Rock. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lzk/?n=svr0510.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
- ^ "Rainfall Accumulations for the April 30 / May 2 Heavy Rainfall Event". NWS Paducah, KY. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=pah&storyid=51843&source=0. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
- ^ "State-wide Status report, issued at 3 p.m. May 7, 2010". Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. http://www.tnema.org/news/tema/?p=423. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ [1] New York Times, May 4, 2010
- ^ "Storms, Floods Kill 29 in South". Wall Street Journal online. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703866704575223782507473208.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines. Retrieved 2010-05-04.[dead link]
- ^ "Miss. storm death toll rises to 6". Clarion Ledger online. http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20100504/NEWS/5040360/Miss.+storm+death+toll+rises+to+6. Retrieved 2010-05-04.[dead link]
- ^ Mullen, Bryan (2010-05-03). "UPDATED: LP Field, Bridgestone Arena flooded". The Tennessean. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100503/SPORTS01/100503070/2072/SPORTS.
- ^ "Nashville flooding hits Grand Ole Opry". USA Today Online. May 3, 2010. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/05/nashville-flooding-hits-grand-ole-opry-/1. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
- ^ a b c d e "Nashville landmarks underwater". Tennessean online. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100504/NEWS01/5040335/Nashville+landmarks+underwater. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ^ Snyder, Eric (May 3, 2010). "MetroCenter dry, Pinnacle Tower swimming; most office areas escape flooding". Nashville Business Journal online. http://nashville.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2010/05/03/daily5.html. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ^ Reisinger, Brian (May 4, 2010). "Power out in core of downtown Nashville". Nashville Business Journal online. http://nashville.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2010/05/03/daily14.html. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ^ "Obama declares Nashville a disaster area". The Tennessean. May 4, 2010. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100504/NEWS01/100504018/President-Obama-declares-Nashville-a-disaster-area. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Bredesen Announces Disaster Declarations for 3 More Tennessee Counties". Tennessee Government. May 7, 2010. http://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/5087. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ "Damages at $1.5 billion, climbing in Nashville". Associated Press via WMC-TV. http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12446068. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
- ^ http://www.cfmtfloodresponse.org/
Categories:- Floods in the United States
- 2010 floods
- History of Nashville, Tennessee
- 2010 natural disasters in the United States
- 2010 in Tennessee
- Natural disasters in Tennessee
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
