Tennessee flooding leaves at least 22 people dead and dozens missing
The impact of the flooding on the Waverly area of Tennessee. Photo: Hardin County Fire Department, Savannah Tennessee/Facebook
Severe flooding in parts of middle Tennessee has left at least 22 people dead and dozens of others unaccounted for, local authorities said on Sunday.
The latest: Waverly Chief of Public Safety Grant Gillespie told reporters search-and-rescue were working into the night to find those missing from Saturday's flooding, driven by heavy rainfall.
- Gillespie noted that with the extreme weather causing internet and phone lines to go down in some places — including the 911 emergency line — rescuers were conducting "old school" work, conducting door-to-door checks.
- In Waverly, Humphreys County — the town hit hardest by the flooding — hundreds of homes were left uninhabitable, and the waters snapped power lines and "slabs of roadway peeled from the ground," the Tennessean reports.
- Officials announced an 8 p.m. curfew in Waverly.
By the numbers: 17.02 inches of rain had fallen in the city of McEwen from midnight to just before 10.30p.m. Saturday ET — meaning it "likely broke the all-time 24 hour rainfall record for the state," the NWS tweeted.
The big picture: The National Weather Service issued its most dire flood alert for the affected area on Saturday as relentless heavy rain caused creeks to overflowed amid a "flash flood emergency."
- The water from the Saturday's flooding has started to recede in some areas, per the Washington Post.
What they're saying: Speaking from the White House Sunday evening, President Biden expressed his "deepest condolences for the sudden and tragic loss of life" due to the flash flooding.
- The White House has reached out to the community and stands ready to offer its support, the president added.
- Waverly Mayor Buddy Frazier told WKRN: "This is the most devastating disaster that we’ve every experienced in this area."
Of note: A UN IPCC report on climate science published earlier this month found that extreme precipitation events, including heavy downpours, are becoming more frequent and severe.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with to reflect the death toll increase and with additional other details throughout.