Flooding in Tennessee
Governor Phil Bredesen at TEMA Headquarters,
Nashville, Tennessee, May 2, 2010
Photograph by Jed DeKalb, State Photographer
Flood of 2010, West and Middle Tennessee,
May 1-2, 2010
On May 1-2, 2010, the combined effects of a stalled frontal boundary and warm, moist air rising from the Gulf of Mexico caused West and Middle Tennessee to be inundated with record-breaking amounts of rainfall. According to the National Weather Service, in Nashville "a new two-day rainfall record was established when 13.57 inches fell on May 1 and May 2, shattering the previous record of 6.68 inches set on September 13 and 14, 1979." Nashville’s previous record for rainfall during the month of May, 11.04 inches, was set in 1983. The 2010 storms broke that record in just the first two days of the month.
Governor Phil Bredesen's first press briefing
at TEMA Headquarters, Nashville, Tennessee,
May 2, 2010
Photograph by Jed DeKalb, State Photographer
The entire region experienced "1000-year floods" caused by the fact that many locations received 10-20 inches of rain over a 48-hour period. The Cumberland River flooded both Clarksville and Nashville. On May 3 in Nashville the river, with a flood stage of 40 ft., crested at 51.86 ft., a level not seen since 1937. The next day in Clarksville, where the flood stage is 46 ft., the Cumberland crested at 62.58 ft. Other rivers flooded as well: 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. Portions of Interstates I-40, I-24, and I-65 were closed because of flooding. According to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), "The flooding and storms caused the deaths of 24 persons: These deaths were mostly caused by water – 11 in Davidson County (although one was subsequently ruled natural by the medical examiner), 2 in Perry County, 2 in Stewart County, 1 in Carroll County, 1 in Williamson County, 1 in Shelby County, 1 in Gibson County, 1 in Hickman County, 1 in Montgomery County, 1 in Tipton County, 1 in Maury County and 1 (tornado-related) in Hardeman County." To date, close to 60,000 Tennesseans have applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for nearly $128 million in federal aid.
Governor Bredesen's tour of the flooding
Photographs by Andrew McMurtrie, State Photographer
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Governor Phil Bredesen tours flood-damaged areas |
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Jackson, Madison County, Tennessee, May 3, 2010 |
Jackson, Madison County, Tennessee, May 3, 2010 |
Madison County, Tennessee, |
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Madison County, Tennessee, |
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Madison County, Tennessee, |
Interstate I-40 crossing the Duck River |
Davidson County, Tennessee, |
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Davidson County, Tennessee, |
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Davidson County, Tennessee, |
Davidson County, Tennessee, |
Harpeth River, Coley Davis Road, & I-40, |
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Regal Bellevue Stadium 12, |
Cumberland River, I-40, & Charlotte Pike |
McGavock Pike & Briley Parkway, |
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Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center |
Grand Ole Opry, |
Opry Mills Mall, |
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Visco Drive, Nashville, Tennessee, |
Visco Drive, Nashville, Tennessee, |
Shelby Street Bridge over the Cumberland River, |
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LP Field, |
Broadway & 1st Avenue North, |
Pedestrian bridge across the Cumberland ending at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center |
Special thanks to Lydia Lenker, Press Secretary to Governor Bredesen, for providing the preceding photographs.
Murfreesboro and Nashville, Tennessee
Photographs by William M. Thomas
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Thompson Lane Trailhead of the Greenway |
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Thompson Lane Trailhead of the Greenway |
Stones River |
Stones River |
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1st Avenue North looking south from Church Street |
Cumberland River |
1st Avenue North & Riverfront Park from Woodland Street Bridge |
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1st Avenue North & Riverfront Park one week later |
1st Avenue North & Riverfront Park from Woodland Street Bridge |
Flood gauge in Riverfront Park |
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1st Avenue North & Riverfront Park one week later |
Tank farm from Victory Memorial Bridge |
Tank farm from Victory Memorial Bridge |
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Railroad bridge from Victory Memorial Bridge |
Railroad bridge from Victory Memorial Bridge |
Bicentennial Mall from Capitol Hill |
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Rosa Parks Boulevard & the Farmers Market |
7th Avenue North running through Bicentennial Mall |
Intersection of Rosa Parks Boulevard & James Robertson Parkway |
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10th Circle North & James Robertson Parkway |
10th Circle North |
1st Avenue North: The cleanup begins |
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Flood gauge in Riverfront Park |
Riverfront Park |
Riverfront Park |
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Riverfront Park |
Riverfront Park |
Flood-damaged furnishings removed from businesses on 1st Avenue North |
Section researched and written by Will Thomas, Archival Assistant