I know I haven't posted on this blog since last June but sometimes you simply have to let the world stop and puts words to computer screen and heap a bunch of praise on some very deserving people.
While rain was predicted on May 1 and 2, 2010, nobody ever predicted that over 13-1/2 inches would fall on the City of Nashville, Tennessee. Our house is close to Mill Creek but not in the area where it floods. Water from the higher street next to ours drains down our backyard and it was gushing pretty good for hours and hours both days; however, we were spared any damage. Unfortunately for some other people, that wasn't the case.
My thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost their homes, cars, possessions, and especially family members. Their lives have been forever changed by this event. I am most proud of the people of Nashville.
When the rains came down, local TV stations yanked their regular programming and stayed on the air 24/7, commercial free, to give us the latest updates. Fox 17's studios were in an area with mandatory evacuation orders due to a levee which was about to be breached. A skeleton crew decided to stay and make sure the news continued as water was approaching the back of their building.
The Office of Emergency Management has done an amazing job. This was not Hurricane Katrina where you had days of advance notice. Water rose fast and furious in parts of Nashville. I watched Interstate 24 flood near my home. I drive that road every weekday from work. I saw the portable classroom float down the road and then disintegrate before my very eyes. At the time, we were thinking it was a mobile home with people inside. We watched as the water came up over the tops of the cars and saw vehicles stopping on the other side of the interstate making sure everyone got out of the cars -- the concrete barrier being the dike holding back the high water from the westbound lanes of the interstate.
Nashville police officers took on 12-hour shifts. Firefighters worked endlessly to rescue people from those homes overcome by the flood waters. Neighbors helped neighbors using boats, inflatable rafts -- whatever they could to help out. The National Guard was called out to assist in rescues. And the rains had not yet stopped.
Mayor Karl Dean was our leader who gave frequent updates. The heads of his agencies were at these press conferences to answer questions. If you had access to TV or radio, you were kept informed. But the Cumberland River overflowed and downtown Nashville was underwater from Riverfront Park to Sixth Avenue. Honky tonk clubs were silenced. The Gaylord Opryland Hotel was under water. Opry Mills mall was under water. The Grand Ole Opry House flooded; however, the Opry show continued on two days later at the War Memorial Auditorium with a star-studded cast.
One of the hardest hit residential areas of Nashville was Bellevue in West Nashville. Multiple subdivisions flooded. Antioch residents near Mill Creek saw the water reach the rooftops. A road I travel to get to work is still closed as I write this. The flood waters took out one of Nashville's water treatment plants forcing residents to rely on our second plant which was in imminate danger of being flooded. Residents were asked to use half the water they would normally use. I'm finding it's not that difficult to do. Our second water treatment plant was spared and is producing 85 million gallons of drinking water per day. Nashville and Brentwood residents use over 100 million gallons a day.
Nashville utility companies (water, electric and gas) are waiving reconnection fees, late charges and giving affected homeowners additional time to pay their bill. Our Department of Public Works will be picking up items damaged in the flood: appliances and metals, construction and demolition debris, household trash (including carpet), and vegetation (brush and limbs).
I read on a blog today "where are the country music stars? Why aren't they helping." Many of them have suffered losses as well. Country music superstar Kenny Chesney's house completely flooded and will have to be demolished and rebuilt. Jeannie Seely lives on the Cumberland River and lost her house and her car. Country music artists never help out to get the recognition. I hate to start naming names because I know I'll leave someone out, but concert benefits are being planned. Vince Gill and WSMV-TV put together a two-night telethon with celebs like Tennessee Titans' coach Jeff Fisher and Nashville Predators' coach Barry Trotz answering the phones. Others helping out included Phil Vassar, Buddy Jewell, Chuck Wicks, Billy Dean, Steve Warriner, Lorrie Morgan, Bo Bice, Amy Grant, Keith Urban, Lee Roy Parnell, Bryan White, Troy Gentry, Steven Curtis Chapman, Naomi Judd, Darius Rucker, Lonestar, Alison Krauss.
Kellie Pickler tweeted asking for volunteers to help out her friends whose home had suffered damage. Keith Urban (who lost much of his equipment he had stored at a warehouse downtown) was going to help clean up the Country Music Hall of Fame. I saw where Jake Owens and Elizabeth Cook performed at impromptu benefits. New pop sensation, Ke$ha, will return to her hometown to perform a benefit concert. There will be more to come, I'm sure. Other Nashville celebrities had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the relief efforts.
Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State and thousands of residents have stepped in to help. Lives will not return to normal for a very long time. Nashville has never experienced something like this before and (hopefully) will never, ever again. So I salute our local government officials who had their hands on just what was happening and what was going to be needed in the aftermath. Hats off to our law enforcement officers who have protected life and property, our firefighters who many times risked their own lives to reach residents to save their lives. I thank our local TV and radio stations -- that put Nashvillians first and foremost. The Tennessean newspaper's coverage was amazing, not only covering the events from the flood, but giving residents information on what to do and where to turn.
But most of all, I salute the incredible residents of Nashville -- those who waded through chest-deep water to get to safety, those brave residents who helped their neighbors evacuate and even deliver a baby. And those thousands of volunteers who continue to hand out food, water and help with the clean-up. You all are true heroes.
While rain was predicted on May 1 and 2, 2010, nobody ever predicted that over 13-1/2 inches would fall on the City of Nashville, Tennessee. Our house is close to Mill Creek but not in the area where it floods. Water from the higher street next to ours drains down our backyard and it was gushing pretty good for hours and hours both days; however, we were spared any damage. Unfortunately for some other people, that wasn't the case.
My thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost their homes, cars, possessions, and especially family members. Their lives have been forever changed by this event. I am most proud of the people of Nashville.
When the rains came down, local TV stations yanked their regular programming and stayed on the air 24/7, commercial free, to give us the latest updates. Fox 17's studios were in an area with mandatory evacuation orders due to a levee which was about to be breached. A skeleton crew decided to stay and make sure the news continued as water was approaching the back of their building.
The Office of Emergency Management has done an amazing job. This was not Hurricane Katrina where you had days of advance notice. Water rose fast and furious in parts of Nashville. I watched Interstate 24 flood near my home. I drive that road every weekday from work. I saw the portable classroom float down the road and then disintegrate before my very eyes. At the time, we were thinking it was a mobile home with people inside. We watched as the water came up over the tops of the cars and saw vehicles stopping on the other side of the interstate making sure everyone got out of the cars -- the concrete barrier being the dike holding back the high water from the westbound lanes of the interstate.
Nashville police officers took on 12-hour shifts. Firefighters worked endlessly to rescue people from those homes overcome by the flood waters. Neighbors helped neighbors using boats, inflatable rafts -- whatever they could to help out. The National Guard was called out to assist in rescues. And the rains had not yet stopped.
Mayor Karl Dean was our leader who gave frequent updates. The heads of his agencies were at these press conferences to answer questions. If you had access to TV or radio, you were kept informed. But the Cumberland River overflowed and downtown Nashville was underwater from Riverfront Park to Sixth Avenue. Honky tonk clubs were silenced. The Gaylord Opryland Hotel was under water. Opry Mills mall was under water. The Grand Ole Opry House flooded; however, the Opry show continued on two days later at the War Memorial Auditorium with a star-studded cast.
One of the hardest hit residential areas of Nashville was Bellevue in West Nashville. Multiple subdivisions flooded. Antioch residents near Mill Creek saw the water reach the rooftops. A road I travel to get to work is still closed as I write this. The flood waters took out one of Nashville's water treatment plants forcing residents to rely on our second plant which was in imminate danger of being flooded. Residents were asked to use half the water they would normally use. I'm finding it's not that difficult to do. Our second water treatment plant was spared and is producing 85 million gallons of drinking water per day. Nashville and Brentwood residents use over 100 million gallons a day.
Nashville utility companies (water, electric and gas) are waiving reconnection fees, late charges and giving affected homeowners additional time to pay their bill. Our Department of Public Works will be picking up items damaged in the flood: appliances and metals, construction and demolition debris, household trash (including carpet), and vegetation (brush and limbs).
I read on a blog today "where are the country music stars? Why aren't they helping." Many of them have suffered losses as well. Country music superstar Kenny Chesney's house completely flooded and will have to be demolished and rebuilt. Jeannie Seely lives on the Cumberland River and lost her house and her car. Country music artists never help out to get the recognition. I hate to start naming names because I know I'll leave someone out, but concert benefits are being planned. Vince Gill and WSMV-TV put together a two-night telethon with celebs like Tennessee Titans' coach Jeff Fisher and Nashville Predators' coach Barry Trotz answering the phones. Others helping out included Phil Vassar, Buddy Jewell, Chuck Wicks, Billy Dean, Steve Warriner, Lorrie Morgan, Bo Bice, Amy Grant, Keith Urban, Lee Roy Parnell, Bryan White, Troy Gentry, Steven Curtis Chapman, Naomi Judd, Darius Rucker, Lonestar, Alison Krauss.
Kellie Pickler tweeted asking for volunteers to help out her friends whose home had suffered damage. Keith Urban (who lost much of his equipment he had stored at a warehouse downtown) was going to help clean up the Country Music Hall of Fame. I saw where Jake Owens and Elizabeth Cook performed at impromptu benefits. New pop sensation, Ke$ha, will return to her hometown to perform a benefit concert. There will be more to come, I'm sure. Other Nashville celebrities had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the relief efforts.
Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State and thousands of residents have stepped in to help. Lives will not return to normal for a very long time. Nashville has never experienced something like this before and (hopefully) will never, ever again. So I salute our local government officials who had their hands on just what was happening and what was going to be needed in the aftermath. Hats off to our law enforcement officers who have protected life and property, our firefighters who many times risked their own lives to reach residents to save their lives. I thank our local TV and radio stations -- that put Nashvillians first and foremost. The Tennessean newspaper's coverage was amazing, not only covering the events from the flood, but giving residents information on what to do and where to turn.
But most of all, I salute the incredible residents of Nashville -- those who waded through chest-deep water to get to safety, those brave residents who helped their neighbors evacuate and even deliver a baby. And those thousands of volunteers who continue to hand out food, water and help with the clean-up. You all are true heroes.
2 comments:
The 5 Nashville Clear Channel stations did a radiothon to raise $240,000+. Kellie Pickler and other stars participated.
http://www.wsix.com/pages/2010flood.html
I was so sorry to hear about the flooding in Nashville. The video and pictures have been heart wrenching. Thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected.
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