Flood Update

The demands of Flood 2010 have kept me away from posting updates on the blog. The good news is that I am a total Twitter convert. So, many of you received info that way and hopefully it was helpful. I also distributed information through the listservs around the district. So, if you didn't get the Twitter feed, hopefully you got the email updates.

Last week, we discovered the alternate personality of Richland Creek. That normally babbling brook and all its tributaries was transformed into a sort of hydrological Mr. Hyde. It rose to 20 feet and cut a pretty wide path of destruction from its various origins in West Meade and Forest Hills all the way to the Cumberland River. Meanwhile, the earth had way too much to drink and spewed water into every basement she could find. When it was over, left behind are mudslides, debris and infrastructure damage. The public and private economic impacts are significant and far reaching.

Restore and recover are the marching orders now. To that end, I have now toured all of that part of the district that lies south of Harding Rd and part of West Meade on the north side. I have inventoried all infrastructure damage and am submitting those to Public Works and Stormwater Management. If you see a problem on your street, please email it to me and I can make sure it is on the list

Debris removal has begun. I do not have a date for pick up in the 23rd yet but as soon as I do, I will let you know. Please refer to the guidelines on debris disposal here.

Water conservation continues to be very important. Due to conservation measures, stored capacity which had dropped to 37% is now up over 80%. But we still are not making enough water for your grass or your car. Please report all non-essential water use to kim.minton@nashville.gov.

If you have not done so, please file your insurance claims with your private carrier even if you expect to be denied. You will need the denial letter to take the tax deduction and to file for FEMA. If you wish to file with FEMA, please call 1-800-621-FEMA or online at DisasterAssistance.gov.

Hang in there folks. The next few months are gonna take patience, thoughtfulness and above all, a sense of humor.

Claire, a word please?

Notwithstanding a little griping from some corners, I am pretty much ok with being ignored by the national media during our epic flood last weekend. Generally when you are ignored by the national press, it is because you are acting properly. We had little looting. The water shortage was initially handled by the unsung heroes in the Metro Water valve crew and subsequently through meaningful conservation. Everyone pitched in for rescue and clean-up. As far as disasters go, there is a whole lot of which we can be proud. That sort of thing doesn't get you on network news.

So, I was not too distressed to see that my recent issue of Time dedicated just 200 words and one picture to our flood. I was a little miffed, however, to read this line: "And the stage of the Grand Old Opry, the spiritual home of country music, once graced by legends like Patsy Cline and Hank Williams, is now waterlogged."

The flooded Opry house opened in 1974. Hank Williams died in 1953. Patsy Cline passed 10 years later. I was told not to give the writer, Claire Suddath, too hard a time by a mutual friend because the kid probably wasn't even born when all the things in the preceding sentence happened. But I will ask this: is it too much to ask that when the national media slights us during our region-wide tragedy, they do so accurately?