4 dead as record-breaking rain hits Nashville, flooding remains a danger

Four people were killed in Nashville as 7 inches of rain flooded the city in just 48 hours, authorities said. This is the second-highest two-day total on record, after the historic May 2010 floods that killed 36 people.

At least 130 people were rescued from vehicles, apartments and homes overnight and until Sunday morning, authorities said at a press conference.

Flooding is still expected on Sunday, with the Cumberland River expected to peak at 49 feet by midnight on Monday. During the May 2010 flooding, the Cumberland River peaked at 51.86 feet, according to the Tennessean. The flood stage is 40 feet.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper declared a local state of emergency on Sunday evening.

The Metro Nashville Police Department said flooding in Seven Mile Creek left three of the dead. Police found the bodies of a 64-year-old man and a 46-year-old woman near a homeless camp where flooding from the stream had affected the area. Another body, a 70-year-old man, was recovered from a vehicle that had been submerged in water near a Walmart.

The fourth victim, a 65-year-old man, was found dead on the Nashboro Village golf course, CBS Nashville affiliate WTVF reported. Police believe the man was swept away by high water after getting out of a car that ran off the road into a culvert.

Cooper called the deaths “shocking.”

As the rain subsided, the National Weather Service warned on Sunday that more flooding is possible in Middle Tennessee as water flows through creeks and streams and then major rivers.

Hourly precipitation totals reached 2-3 inches south and east of Nashville. Precipitation totaled 5.75 inches on Saturday alone, the city’s wettest day on record in March.