In Deep Water

Heavy rains in three southern U.S. states cause the worst flooding in decades.


BY CLAUDIA ATTICOT






Parts of hospitals, schools and state buildings remained underwater on May 3, after a weekend rainstorm whipped through Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky, causing record-breaking floods. The powerful storm left tens of thousands of people without power, shut down major highways, damaged bridges and killed at least 19 in the three states.


Officials say most of the damage was caused in Nashville, Tennessee, where more than 13 inches of rain fell in two days. This almost doubled the state's previous record of 6.68 inches set back in 1979. "I've never seen [the water] this high," said Donnie Smith, an official who has lived in the area for 45 years. "I'm sure that it's rained this hard at one time, but never for this much of an extended period." The rising waters forced authorities to close more than 150 roads in middle Tennessee.


The Cumberland River, which runs through the city, flooded its banks, causing officials to evacuate the downtown area. Nashville Mayor Karl Dean declared a state of emergency on Sunday, and urged residents to conserve water, after flooding shut down one of the two water- treatment plants in Nashville, threatening the fresh water supplies in several counties.


The Eye of the Storm


Forecasters say the storm, which developed over Mississippi, packed high winds and heavy rains, and moved quickly through the area. In Kentucky, where residents received about nine inches of rain, at least 23 counties and eight cities declared states of emergency.


So far, more than 600 people have been rescued in Nashville alone, and 36,000 homes are still without power. "All of our major creeks and the Cumberland River are near flood level, if not at flood level," says Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. "There's nowhere for the water to go."


More Rain on the Way


Today, residents are bracing for even more flooding, after forecasters predict more heavy rain for the area. "This is going to go on for a while," said Bredesen. "It's going to take several days for this to get back to anything near normal."

This flood disaster is very bad. It made Tennesee into water, leaving many houses without electricity, many people being injured, and many buildings been flooded. This lets us remind Typhoon Morakot in last August. It flooded and broke the buildings, heavy rain and heavy wind, at least 2000 mm rainfall a day, about a hundred people die, and at least a few hundred people been injured. Nine months have passed since the typhoon, and villages been wrecked haven’t fixed well. Some estimates show Taiwan will suffer another Morakot(not by the same name,but the same disaster as before), and somehow increases the damage of this typhoon. This world is going to the end, by more and more strong disasters going to wreck this whole world. We need to protect Earth, as the same as global warming, even this world is going to the end, but it still knows we protected itself.