AP News
By JONATHAN MATTISE and R.J. RICO
McEWEN, Tenn. (AP) â Rescue crews continued Sunday to look for dozens of people missing in Tennessee after flooding from extraordinarily heavy rains left washed away homes and at least 10 dead.
The flooding in rural Humphreys County took out roads, cellphone towers and telephone lines, leaving families uncertain about whether their loved ones survived the unprecedented deluge and emergency workers searching door-to-door, said Kristi Brown, a coordinator for health and safety supervisor with Humphreys County Schools.
Business owner Kansas Klein watched in horror from a bridge Saturday morning as cars and entire houses were swept down a road in Waverly, a town of about 4,500 people that Klein, 48, has called home for more than half his life. Two girls who were holding on to a puppy and clinging to a wooden board swept past, far too fast for Klein and other onlookers to go down and grab hold of them.
After being told by authorities to go back, Klein returned a couple hours later, shocked that the floodwaters had almost entirely receded and aghast at the destruction that was left behind.
âIt was amazing how quick it came and how quick it left,â Klein said.
Klein said his restaurant, a decade-old New York-style pizzeria, was still standing, but the morning deluge of between 10 and 12 inches (25 to 30 centimeters) of rain in Humphreys County had caused floodwaters to reach 7 feet (2.1 meters) inside the eatery, rendering it a total loss.
After leaving his restaurant, Klein walked to the nearby public housing homes and heard yelling. A man had just recovered a babyâs body from one of the homes. Other bodies would soon follow.
âIâm looking at my restaurant, thinking how horrible it was that I lost my restaurant and then I walk around the corner and see someoneâs baby dead â my restaurant doesnât mean a whole lot right now,â Klein told the Associated Press in a phone interview Saturday night. The City of Waverly Public Water System is under a boil water advisory until further notice.
The low-income homes â dozens of block buildings known as Brookside â appeared to have borne the brunt of the flash flood, Klein said.
âIt was devastating: buildings were knocked down, half of them were destroyed,â Klein said. âPeople were pulling out bodies of people who had drowned and didnât make it out.â
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told news outlets more than 30 people have been reported missing. It was not immediately clear how many had lived at Brookside, located about 60 miles (96 kilometers) west of Nashville.
Four shelters were set up Saturday night for residents whose homes flooded, and a high school in McEwen was being used to reunite families. Phone lines knocked out during and after the storm complicated search efforts, the sheriffâs office said in a statement.
âThere were people inside homes asleep and woke up to their house moving, like it was going down the creek,â said McEwen resident Michael Pate.
Two of the bodies recovered were toddlers who had been swept away from their father, Davis told WSMV-TV.
Waverly couple Cindy Dunn, 48, and her husband Jimmy, 49, were rescued from their attic by a crew who used a bulldozer to reach them.
âHell. Thatâs what we had to go through,â Cindy Dunn told The Tennessean.
She said her husband woke her up Saturday, telling her that floodwaters had pushed her car to their backyard. Eventually the water in their house rose to at least 6 feet (1.8 meters) high, forcing them to the attic. Dunn said the rooftop wasnât an option.
âMy husband is dealing with cancer. Heâs going through chemotherapy. And I am an amputee. So there was no going anywhere besides the attic,â Dunn said.
Dunn said their home and neighboring houses âare gone.â
Just to the east of Waverly, the town of McEwen was pummeled with about 17 inches (43 centimeters) of rain in less than a day, prompting water rescues, road closures, and communications disruptions. That rainfall total smashed the stateâs 24-hour record of 13.6 inches (34.5 centimeters) from 1982, according to the National Weather Service Nashville, though Saturdayâs numbers would have to be confirmed. The service said no additional rainfall was expected Sunday.
Flood warnings remained in effect through Monday morning for Duck River near Hurricane Mills in Humphreys County and Piney River near Vernon in Hickman County.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee tweeted on Saturday, âTennesseans, please stay cautious of rising floodwaters caused by heavy rainfall in parts of Middle TN. We are actively working with emergency response officials & first responders as they support Tennesseans in flooded areas.â
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency activated its emergency operations center and said agencies that include the Tennessee National Guard, the state Highway Patrol, and Fire Mutual Aid were responding to the flooding. In a bulletin, TEMA called the situation âdangerous and evolvingâ and urged people to avoid travel in the affected counties.
Klein isnât sure for what the future holds for his family or his town.
He also isnât sure what happened to the two girls and the puppy he witnessed who had been clinging on to the board. He heard that a girl and a puppy had been rescued downstream, and that the other girl was also saved, but he wasnât sure it was them.
âThis is the third 100-hundred year flood that weâve had in about 10 years,â referencing 2010 and 2019 floods. âBut this is 100 times worse than either one of them was. … The last report I saw was there were 31 missing. This is a small town so the odds are I know most of those people.â
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A truck and a car sit in a creek Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, after they were washed away the day before in McEwen, Tenn. Heavy rains caused flooding in Middle Tennessee and have resulted in multiple deaths as homes and rural roads were washed away. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
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A mobile home and a truck trailer sit near a creek Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, after they were washed away by flood waters the day before in McEwen, Tenn. Heavy rains caused flooding in Middle Tennessee and have resulted in multiple deaths as homes and rural roads were washed away. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
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CORRECTS ID TO MICHAEL PATE NOT WAYNE SPEARS. Michael Pate watches as a road is repaired Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, in McEwen, Tenn. Pate repaired the road Saturday after heavy rain washed part of it away, but the road was damaged again when more rain fell Saturday night. Heavy rains caused flooding in Middle Tennessee and have resulted in multiple deaths as homes and rural roads were washed away. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
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A road is repaired Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, in McEwen, Tenn. The road was repaired Saturday after heavy rain washed part of it away, but the road was damaged again when more rain fell Saturday night. Heavy rains caused flooding in Middle Tennessee and have resulted in multiple deaths as homes and rural roads were washed away. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
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Debris from flooding is strewn along Sam Hollow Road following heavy rainfall on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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Dickson Public Works personnel check the flooding on Old Pond Lane following heavy rainfall, Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. Heavy flooding in several Middle Tennessee counties on Saturday prompted water rescues, road closures, and communications disruptions, with several people reported missing. Flash flood warnings were in effect for Dickson, Houston and Montgomery and Stewart counties on Saturday evening. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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Layers of pavement are ripped up from Harris Road following heavy rainfall and flooding on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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A driveway is washed away by flooding along Little Blue Creek Road following heavy rainfall Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in McEwen, Tenn. Heavy flooding in several Middle Tennessee counties on Saturday prompted water rescues, road closures, and communications disruptions, with several people reported missing. Flash flood warnings were in effect for Dickson, Houston and Montgomery and Stewart counties on Saturday evening. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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Flooding is seen along Little Blue Creek Road following heavy rainfall Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in McEwen, Tenn. Heavy flooding in several Middle Tennessee counties on Saturday prompted water rescues, road closures, and communications disruptions, with several people reported missing. Flash flood warnings were in effect for Dickson, Houston and Montgomery and Stewart counties on Saturday evening. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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Chairs picked up by flood water are strewn along Sam Hollow Road following heavy rainfall on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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The playground at Jason Chapel Church is covered in debris following heavy rainfall and flooding Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. Heavy flooding in several Middle Tennessee counties on Saturday prompted water rescues, road closures, and communications disruptions, with several people reported missing. Flash flood warnings were in effect for Dickson, Houston and Montgomery and Stewart counties on Saturday evening. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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With a waterline of dirt and small debris still clinging to her home, Joy Rhodes points to the flooded Garner Creek on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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Joy Rhodes looks through a ruined calendar in her kitchen after her home flooded following heavy rainfall Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. Heavy flooding in several Middle Tennessee counties on Saturday prompted water rescues, road closures, and communications disruptions, with several people reported missing. Flash flood warnings were in effect for Dickson, Houston and Montgomery and Stewart counties on Saturday evening. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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A muddy golf cart sits in a driveway of Gary and Joy Rhodes following heavy rainfall on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP
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The playground at Jason Chapel Church is covered in debris following heavy rainfall and flooding on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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The office of the Rhodes family is in disarray after their home flooded following heavy rainfall on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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Debris from flooding is strewn along Sam Hollow Road following heavy rainfall on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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Water covers Sam Hollow Road following heavy rainfall on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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A driveway bridge is washed away by flooding along Little Blue Creek Road following heavy rainfall Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in McEwen, Tenn. Heavy flooding in several Middle Tennessee counties on Saturday prompted water rescues, road closures, and communications disruptions, with several people reported missing. Flash flood warnings were in effect for Dickson, Houston and Montgomery and Stewart counties on Saturday evening. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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Ruined and muddied blankets sit on the ground with a photo frame in the spare bedroom of Joy and Gary Rhodes’ home after their home flooded following heavy rainfall on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Dickson, Tenn. (Josie Norris/The Tennessean via AP)
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A mobile home and a truck trailer sit near a creek Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, after they were washed away by flood waters the day before in McEwen, Tenn. Heavy rains caused flooding in Middle Tennessee and have resulted in multiple deaths as homes and rural roads were washed away. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
