Kay Brooks: Flood Update
This YouTube video by a friend is really an excellent overview of the damage…with an appropriate Johnny Cash tune to go with it.
More photos and news at the local daily paper: The Tennessean
We are under mandatory water restrictions since one of our two water filtration plants is under water. We’re being asked to use just half our normal consumption. The police and water company are shutting down car washes and locking meters of irrigation violators. (Amazingly some corporations didn’t consider shutting off automatic sprinklers).
Folks are still stepping up and helping neighbors rescue their goods & pets. Refugee centers are still opening as folks are able to get out of their neighborhood with just what was on their backs. Donations of everything from clothing, to water and free tetanus shots are quickly becoming more and more available.
Very little crime. No curfew but the police are out in force. The police helicopters are monitoring abandoned neighborhoods and neighbors are encourage to and are calling in suspicious behavior which really helps the police protect necessarily abandoned property.
Still some neighborhood where folks cannot get in. The water is dropping though. The Cumberland River is expected to be back in it’s banks tomorrow. Really weird to drive down the road and see the evidence of where the river has been. Tree leaves muddy half way up, holes in buildings created by the force of the water, gravel piles on the sides of the road where the water washed through.
One smart neighbor took that deposited gravel and filled in the river created pot holes. That’s Nashville. Folks are just taking care of it. No one is waiting around for the government or any NGO to step in. We got neighbors who need help…we’re on it.
It’s going to take a long time to clean up, rebuild and then convince folks to come back and visit. But we’ll do it. There’s also likely to be an ugly conversation about infrastructure, where the money went and a new convention center we went into debt to build just a couple of months ago without considering THIS rainy day situation.
You can help!
Keep us in your prayers. If you’ve a mind to donate cash:
- Hands on Nashville is an organization that has been helping out across the city for years and is a good place to donate if you’re so inclined.
- The Salvation Army has been here on First Avenue for decades and could probably use some cash also.
- The Jewish Community Center has also stepped up in a big way as their neighbors were very hard hit.
In the meantime, the Opry has moved back to its roots downtown at the Ryman Auditorium. It seems so appropriate and comforting.
Thanks for the prayers and support.