Untold Effects of the (Nashville) Flood

Untold Effects of the Flood

All of us remember the flood a few months ago that occurred in May this year. What began May 1st and lasted for 3 days killed 27 people throughout Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi (Deigel). This flood destroyed lives, homes, and wildlife. Buildings were collapsed, fish population decreased, natural environments were altered, and our water supply was threatened. The long term impact on the environment and health and safety has yet to be calculated. More than $1.9 billion has been sustained to the private sector in Nashville alone, and this helps only a fraction of the devastating effects that have occurred (Normand).

This was the highest flood recorded since 1939 in Tennessee (Womack). In approximately 36 hours, between 12 and 20 inches of rain fell across Middle and Western Tennessee setting the record for the most rainfall received in this region (Normand). Rivers, creeks, and any tributary carrying water swelled and within hours electric power failed in many areas throughout the city. At the same time land line telephone service also failed widely. Asphalt buckled as the undertow of the flooding river simply lifted the road into its current . The river crested on May 3 at almost 52 feet in the city, and the overflowing river destroyed at least 2,000 homes (Spencer). In many cases homes & businesses we rendered inhabitable for several months if they weren’t completely destroyed.

One of many unreported effects is the fact that anglers will notice a “missing class” of many fish species in three to four years, said Phil Bettoli, a Tennessee Tech University biology professor and assistant unit leader for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Cooperative Fishery Research Unit based at Tech (Oliver). The eggs of several naturally occurring fish species in the Cumberland River – like largemouth bass, sauger and crappie - were likely flushed out of their river or stream habitats and died. Effects in nature weren’t limited to fish; the...