Property damage estimates in the Nashville area are being tallied, and a Red Cross shelter remains open after flash flooding hit the area Thursday. Charles Shannon, with the city's Office of Emergency Management, said it’s hard to compare this week’s flooding to the historic floods of 2010. That event affected different parts of the city over a longer period of time.
“We are working now with [several] department[s] in Nashville along with Tennessee Emergency Management Agency representatives as we continue today and the next several days to try to get a clear count of all individual properties that have been affected," Shannon said.
One person was injured, but no fatalities were reported. Nashville city officials said this week's flooding was more easily managed because of improvements made after the 2010 flood.
Nashville and its surrounding cities sit in a topographic basin, which Shannon compared to a bowl. Shannon said the faster water is poured into the bowl, the quicker it fills. Under normal circumstances, flooding is not usually an issue of high concern for the area because rainwater can drain out of the basin. But five to eight inches of rain fell over the area in a short period of time on Thursday, according to radar estimates. Waters peaked that morning and have steadily receded, allowing area residents to return to their homes and businesses to make assessments.
“The agencies that can be involved will be involved in making sure that people, if there’s funds available for assistance, that all of that will be set up,” Shannon said.
Shannon said all agencies involved are working to make sure people who need assistance get it as quickly as possible.