A weekend long rain has caused a record breaking flood in Tennessee and nearby states. New York Times report 7 dead in the state of Tennessee and 4 in the state of Mississippi. The flood cause closing of the highway and evacuation of thousands of people as well as hundreds of rescue. The heavy rain continued for 2 - 3 days since the beginning of this weekend. CNN also reports 6 to 20 inches of rainfall from different parts of Tennessee. The rainfall in the last 24 hours since Sunday has been more than ever recorded in Nashville.
An emergency shelter has been set up by American Red Cross. In the case of emergency such as this importance of strong aide is evident. They reported that approximately 400 people in 22 shelters throughout Tennessee. Work of American Red Cross has been significant in this event of tragedy. Immediate response by opening shelters, preparing and providing services has been every effective in minimizing the casualties.
Other emergency service includes online flood maps and text provided by Tennessee Department of Transportation which was ready and available prior to the flood. The service provide information about road condition across state and travel information. In the case of severer weather such as this information can be critical in avoiding unnecessary damage and danger.
In order to aide the flood victims, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has set up a relief fund. They are currently accepting donation from anyone wishing to help out. The event is still recent and not many actions have been taken. Although some immediate response from American Red Cross, TDT, and Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee are seen and effective. It is easy to see in case of natural hazard such as this one, speed is the key to save lives and minimize damages.
While looking into this terrible situation in Tennessee, I found out that the city's only functioning water treatment plant came within a foot of being flooded. Residents of Davidson County, which includes Nashville, and neighboring Williamson County were ordered to cut their water consumption in half to avoid overtaxing the system. This would have been an even greater problem for the area if clean water would have been compromised. Although this is an environmental issue having to do with the flooding of major rivers in Tennessee, I feel as if this story falls into more of a public issue for the city of Nashville and other affected cities because as the water recedes, these people will have to deal with rebuilding, restructuring, and making plans to ensure they are better equipped for a situation like this in the future.
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