On the morning of Saturday, May 1, few could have guessed what was about to happen.  The air was cool and muggy, with the skies clouded over, a common occurrence on many spring days in Nashville.  Everyone figured it would rain, but definitely not thirteen inches.  But that is exactly what happened over the next three days that weekend.

The water began to rise rapidly in busy streets and intersections and pooled in ditches and dips in the ground.  Within only about an hour of heavy rain, buckets were floating down Mallory Lane in Cool Springs and many were racing the clock and the water level to get home safely.  For over forty-eight hours there was nonstop coverage on all three local news stations, and an entire city sat at home, glued to their televisions and watched Nashville and the surrounding area go underwater.  Possibly one of the most memorable images from the flood occurred on Saturday when a whole section of I-24 was covered with water that had swept over the major thoroughfare and even moved a portable building from Lighthouse Christian into the road where it was dashed upon the Tractor-Trailers and the cars that were submerged in the brand new lake.

Next came the Harpeth River, and the images that came out were shocking.  News helicopter hovered above the Bellevue area and showed entire neighborhoods flooded while crews on the ground showed frantic family members waiting behind safety lines as police and civilian rescue crews boated the afflicted out of their houses which were filling with the excess from the Harpeth.  Also, area schools such as Ensworth and DCA suffered severe damage to their sports and academic facilities.

Finally, the mighty Cumberland River spilled over its banks.  The first reports of damage came from the Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills where both were completely flooded, with six feet of water filling up the famous Delta Gardens in the Hotel and the basement of the Grand Ole Opry House.  Then Metrocenter and surrounding business districts became another victim.  Not even downtown Nashville and the tourist hot spots were invincible to nature’s onslaught as the brand new Pinnacle skyscraper’s four underground parking garages were underwater and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center’s basement took on water destroying hundreds of thousands of dollars of electronic equipment and the Center’s one million dollar organ before the river finally crested at fifty-two feet. 

Once the water drained away, the massive toll began to emerge.  With ten deaths in the Nashville area and over an estimated 1.9 billion dollars in damages to residential property alone, the road to recovery will be a long one, but Nashville isn’t a city to back down from a challenge.  Already, people with different stories and lifestyles from all across the city have banded together to help by giving of their time and money to help those in dire need.  Just days after the catastrophe, telethons were held by local Channel 4 and the cable channel Great American Country, which is based out of Nashville, that have raised millions of dollars along with generous donations made by local superstars such as Taylor Swift and Brad Paisley.  Both of these country stars and many more are also planning a concert to be held in the Bridgestone Arena, itself a victim of the high water, this summer to benefit the city, along with many other businesses and caring citizens organizing their own fundraisers.  In a time of crisis, Nashville has truly proven that we may go down, but we will never go out.