This is the most devastating disaster that weve every experienced in this area, Waverly Mayor Buddy Frazier told WKRN. Frazier said the floods occurred with the quickness of a tornado.
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Rob Edwards of the Humphreys County Sheriffs Office confirmed the death toll and the number of those missing Sunday but did not immediately answer additional questions. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) did not have an immediate update after calling the torrential rain and flooding catastrophic on Saturday night.
Two of the dead recovered were 7-month-old twins swept away from their parents, relatives confirmed to The Washington Post. The family members woke to water bursting into their duplex and up to their chests outside, said Joey Hall, the twins grandfather. The babies were found together, he said.
Theyve been holding on to each other ever since they was born, he said in a brief interview.
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By Sunday, the waters had receded and the torrential rain had given way to showers. But officials were still pleading for caution and announced an 8 p.m. curfew.
We are asking that residents please stay out of neighborhoods and roadways while the rescue effort is underway, Waverly Chief of Public Safety Grant Gillespie said in a statement.
One observation site recorded 17 inches of rain on Saturday, probably a state record the old record of close to 14 inches was recorded in 1982, Hurley said. Meteorologists had issued a flash flood watch on Friday afternoon and warned of a flash flood emergency Saturday as the downpour intensified.
We save those for the most dire circumstances, she said. Yesterday was definitely one of them.
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As of TEMAs last update Saturday night, 3,500 customers lacked power in Humphreys County, and several hundreds lacked electricity in surrounding counties. Waverly, home to several thousand people, was reporting disruptions with their water treatment facilities, according to TEMA, and residents were advised to boil their water for drinking.
Others counties affected include Dickson, Hickman and Houston, according to TEMA. The sheriffs in those counties have yet to report fatalities but urged people to stay home Saturday as they warned of downed trees and roads made impassable by water and debris.
Waverly Elementary School authorities wrote in a Facebook post Saturday that their campus was completely flooded, with waters four feet deep that stranded people in the gym. Please pray! wrote. An update later in the night said that students had probably lost their homes and that while the school had been through floods before, this was like none other
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One Waverly couple told the Tennessean that they were rescued from their attic by a bulldozer after spending several hours stuck.
Hell. Thats what we had to go through, Cindy Dunn, 48, told the newspaper.
I have no credit cards, she said as she and her husband planned to stay with family in Clarksville. I have no bank cards. No IDs. I have nothing.
The Tennessee National Guard said Saturday night that its soldiers and airmen were helping other emergency responders. A Black Hawk helicopter was assisting with water rescues, officials said, while medics were airlifted to a hospital as support staff and others were setting up emergency cellular, Internet and radio communications.
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Our first priority is to assist with getting responders access to the area and conduct rescue operations, Maj. Gen. Jeff Holmes, Tennessees adjutant general, said in a statement shared by the Guard.
Frazier said authorities were hoping the number of people unaccounted for would decline Sunday as more people are found safe.
Normally on a Sunday morning like this people are going to church, he said. But this Sunday, our churches are shelters for those who were left homeless.read more
At least 16 dead, dozens missing after ‘catastrophic’ flooding in central Tennessee, officials say – The Washington Post
