Middle Tennessee Flood Leaves 11 Dead, Thousands Displaced

Eleven people are dead after a record-breaking flood hit Middle Tennessee over the weekend, The Tennessean reports. Thousands are still without power after heavy rainfall lead to closures and evacuations in Nashville and several nearby towns.

The Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center was emptied of its 1,500 guests. The MetroCenter area north of downtown was evacuated, displacing about 500 people, when a levee along the Cumberland River began to leak. City officials shut down one of Nashville's water treatment facilities and said the city's infrastructure was in danger of serious damage.

"This situation is going to require a very large recovery process," Mayor Karl Dean said. "The magnitude of the damage to our community was much more than what I expected. . . . The safety of some of our infrastructure is questionable."

Nashville has received a record 13 inches of rain in the past two days, leading to 600 rescues of stranded residents and motorists. The Cumberland River is expected to peak at about 50 feet; 40 feet is the official flood level, and at 55 feet the river would begin running across Nashville's major roads.

The storm also caused four deaths in Mississippi, and moved into Georgia on Monday.

Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen said he planned to ask for federal disaster status early this week, which would help the state secure federal dollars for the recovery effort. Most of Nashville's government offices opened Monday despite the conditions.