HEAVY WEATHER

4 Dead in Nashville Floods, Hundreds Trapped in Cars, Homes

The rising waters are the result of some of the heaviest rainfall in Tennessee history.

Four people are confirmed dead in the Nashville, Tennessee, area as flooding from the heaviest single-day March rainfall in state history batters the region, authorities said. At least 130 people trapped in cars, apartments, and houses had to be extricated by swift-water rescue crews as a result of the torrential downpour, Nashville Fire Department spokesperson Joseph Pleasant told The Tennessean. During the heavy weather, 911 operators fielded an emergency call every 19 seconds, the paper reported. “The rainfall we got yesterday and overnight made this one of wettest 24-hour periods in Nashville’s history,” National Weather Service meteorologist Sam Shamburger said. “It’s the worst flooding event we’ve seen since the May 2010 flood. But the main difference is this event affected a much smaller area than the 2010 flood.”