We had record breaking rainfall this past weekend and the flooding was amazingly devastating! Our area had 16 inches of rain in just two days and some of the rivers in the area crested at all-time record high levels. We were seriously considering putting an ad on craigslist for a boat big enough for two of everything, that's how bad it was! All the local news channels were on constant report-mode all weekend long, showing us pictures of area flooding and giving us alerts as to when to expect the next onslaught of rain, thunder, high winds and hail. It was a nerve-wracking weekend for sure. Poor Tubby just paced back and forth all weekend and we all went a little stir crazy with cabin fever from not being able to venture outside.
Saturday, there was no way out of Leiper's Fork in any direction, so we were completely stuck at home. We drove down our road taking video of the rushing waters and all the damaged fencing. The bridge at the end of the road was completely impassable and the water was up to the top and spilling roaringly across the road. Fences were down everywhere and the only thing keeping the livestock inside their pastures was the creek beds and ditches filled to brimming with water gushing down the roadways. We drove as far as we could, which wasn't that far, taking pictures of all the blocked routes we normally take in and out of our little village. The river had washed out three of the bridges and was dangerously close to several estate homes, including Tim McGraw's. The big stone entrance to his estate that has stood there since the late 1800's, was completely washed away. A lot of his fencing was demolished and I imagine he'll have quite the crew out there mending things the rest of this week, as will a lot of the farmers in our area. Naomi Judd even called in an alert to the local news station saying her fences had been washed out and her buffalo were roaming willy-nilly, so everyone should be on the lookout.
Parts of Nashville were completely under water. Hundreds of homes lost all over our area, with many neighborhoods completely wiped out. Even in downtown historic Franklin, we had canoes and rowboats floating up and down 5th Avenue! Unbelievable! Car dealerships with cars completely submerged. One news caster showed a man standing on Mallory Lane, a road in Franklin near our biggest shopping mall, and he had literally caught a fish with his bare hands! He stood there for the camera, proudly holding this humongous two foot long fish, and then he threw it back into the waters rushing through a swollen ditch. One person sent in video of a huge snapping turtle right at the foot of the steps of his front porch, partially submerged in a yard that resembled a small pond.
Hospitals were flooded, businesses lost. 15-foot flags and light poles along Riverfront Park in Nashville were completely under water. Opryland Hotel had to evacuate over 1,500 guests. Three local interstates were completely shut down in several areas and parts of Interstate 24 had stretches with hundreds of cars with water up over the rooftops. 124 cars and semi-trucks were stranded on one particular stretch of the interstate where the river ran up over the bridge and people had to be rescued by boat. Boats on the interstate!
All weekend long we watched reports of water rescues, both human and animal. Horses stuck out in flooded pastures that now resembled lakes, and all you could see was the tops of their heads straining to keep above water. We saw people standing on the tops of their roofs, waiting for boats to come and rescue them. Aerial shots of flooded neighborhoods with nothing but water as far as the eye could see. Cars piled on top of each other like toys, homes washed right off their foundations, huge dumpsters and storage sheds and even a portable classroom, floating down the roads like paper boats. After the water receded, you'd see asphalt buckled in ribbons all along the parking lots and streets, only to be washed further away with the next deluge of rain.
Today, as I made my way into work, the sun was shining brightly and there was nothing but blue skies above. There was only one route open in and out of town and traffic is bumper to bumper as it's being diverted until they can assess the damage to roadways and bridges that are still impassable. The forecast is nothing but sunshine for the rest of the week. As of right now, the death toll is 11 and I pray for all those who have lost everything in this terrible disaster!
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