Monday, May 03, 2010

Nashville Flood 2010

My 4 days in Vegas were incredible. It was time with my brothers that just meant the world to me. More on that and some pictures later.

More importantly, Nashville is in trouble. We need prayers for everyone here. We are ok and our house is ok. My mom went back to her house this morning and she is ok. But there are thousands who are in shelters and devastated by this flood.


Right now downtown Nashville is under water. It’s unreal. The Cumberland River which stands normally at 19ft is currently at 52 ft. People are being rescued from hotels, etc. The Nashville Symphony Center has over 8-10ft of water and has now reported that the beautiful $2.5 million organ has been destroyed. Opryland Hotel is completely flooded with 8-10 feet of water in the lobbies…over 1500 people evacuated from there. The Grand Ole Opry is now taking on water. SO SAD! The Wyndham Resort had to move people to upper floors who are now being rescued. Everything is shut down...schools universities...everything. The death count stands at 15 according to news sources. So sad. The water just rose so fast that people found themselves stuck on interstates with no way out. many were jumping from car to car trying to escape. We have friends who literally had to swim to safety.

Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what's happening here.

sadly ironic sign at a school in south Nashville

Interstate 24...people just got stuck.

Evacuation of Field Stone Farms neighborhood

downtown Nashville...notice the cars under water

Downtown Nashville

Cars just stacked up

Shot of the front of the Grand Ole Opry. Gary Musick Productions created these banners for their 85th anniversary. The banners seem to have weathered the storm. The Opry building, however, was completely devastated...a total loss of equipment, set...everything.

Backstage at the Grand Ole Opry

View of the Opry stage. This one makes me want to cry.

Inside the Bridgestone Arean...home of our NHL Hockey team--The Predators.

Opryland Hotel Delta Lobby....notice the exit sign...that's how high the water is.

Cascade Lobby at Opryland Hotel. Devastating.

some video of flood devastation...










This big red sculpture that sits downtown is now down. It was called "Ghost Ballet". It couldn't withstand the power of the Cumberland River. SO SAD










This is video footage taken yesterday. I just cried watching it...it's really just a preface to what we've seen today as the Cumberland River has expanded into most of downtown. The river is set to crest tonight.






This was earlier today before the water spread to the Titan's stadium. It's worse now than what you see here.


Horrific video footage of what happened on interstate 24 in Nashville...High School portable building floats down the interstate.

Please pray. So many people experiencing loss.

5 comments:

Robin said...

Brandon -

We are praying hard. We (Acappella) were among the fortunate enough to be able to get out of there just a few hours before the floods hit. We're deeply saddened by the news that we're seeing and hearing. But we trust in our Almighty who will always be there to help us pick up the pieces. So glad you and your family are safe and well. We love you guys and are praying for you all and for the Nashville area.

Shalom

Alyssa said...

Thank you for the personal report on Nashville. Scary. Not the Grand Ole' Opry! Our family is supposed to travel to Nashville at the end of the month for a Christian Universities conference at Lipscomb. Glad to know you and your mom are safe.

Stephen Bailey said...

Can't believe how long it took the national media to report on this. It is so sad. Glad you made it safely home. Had you been stranded in Vegas, I would have volunteered to stay with you because that's the kind of friend I am.
You guys are in our prayers.

Kelley said...

Praying for all of Nashville. So heart breaking.

Leah said...

I am a blog stalker, and these pictures make me so, so sad. I love Nashville and was there a few months ago and stayed in the Opryland hotel. Can't believe how bad it is.