Many of those suffering from flood damage do not have the financial resources to begin the hard work of repair to bring their homes back. The regions hit by the floods are not necessarily flood prone areas and some homeowners do not have insurance that will cover this type of event. For those homeowners, restoring their family home may be a difficult if not impossible prospect.

Some of the counties in the region have been declared by the federal government as eligible for assistance and it is hoped as the damage is assessed, more counties will be added to the list. The eligibility for federal assistance is paramount to these counties that require funds to begin cleaning up the area.

Economic impact in the region also includes lost revenue from the local tourist attractions including the Grand Ole Opry and the surrounding hotels and attractions. The total financial impact is not yet known, but it could be months before the tourist attractions are ready to welcome guests back to the region.

Rescue workers are busy providing food and shelter to those left in dire circumstances by the floods. Some families have lost everything in the floods and are turning to assistance just to survive. Roads are closed in and out of the region making it difficult for travelers to Tennessee and Mississippi get out.

The residents of the tent city located on the banks of the Cumberland River have been returning to the area as the water recedes to see if any of their belongings survived the damage. The area is completely devastated and this leaves about 140 homeless residents with nowhere to turn.

Cleanup and recovery is expected to take many months before some semblance of order is restored to the area. In the meantime, some of the poorer members of the community are left looking for a way to survive the damage and move forward.

The heavy weekend thunderstorms left many dead all across the state and filled thousands of vehicles, houses and basements with dirty, muddy flood water. Entire neighborhoods were under water and dozens and dozens of residents are sitting in shelters, dazed and confused but happy to be alive.

The extent of damage is still yet to be known. On Sunday evening, city officials in Nashville closed down one water treatment plant, and the other serving Nashville is likely to be closed as well. Mayor Karl Dean took a helicopter ride over the ravaged area and said that he could hardly believe what he was seeing and also stated that the area appeared to consist of small islands, the flooding was so bad.

North of downtown Nashville, about five hundred residents were evacuated as well as over 150 businesses in the Metro Center area. Guests at a downtown resort were taken to a nearby high school, as this was the only place available that could hold the 1,500 people.  Mayor Dean declared a state of emergency on Sunday and urged city residents to stay home and not to venture out on the streets and roads which were now fast moving creeks and rivers.

The Cumberland River that put a good part of downtown Nashville under water is expected to start to recede soon but not before it overflowed its banks caused by flash flooding occurring in streams and creeks that feed into it. The Opryland Hotel now has up to ten feet of water inside it as restaurant tables and chairs as well as crates of wine glasses are floating outside. It is estimated that it will be many months before the hotel will be able to open again. The Wax Museum of the Stars, a big tourist area in Nashville, was also heavily damage as a life-sized Elvis figure laid on its back in a neighboring parking lot.

Nashville’s airport reported getting 13.53 inches of rain beating the old record set in 1979. Countless schools are closed indefinitely after the Cumberland River splashed over its banks, sending torrents of deep, muddy water rushing in all directions. Tennessee residents can only hope for dry weather so that their nightmare will end, allowing them to assess the damage and start to get their lives in order once again.

A string of very strong thunderstorms barreled across Tennessee, dumping at least ten inches of rain on the Memphis area and spurning tornadoes and hail along the Mississippi River Valley and northward. It is feared that rescuers could find it very difficult to get to all of the areas affected by these storms as the forecast is calling for even more rain.

The exact causes of the five deaths in Tennessee are related to the storm, but it is not yet known exactly how these people died. It was reported by one local newspaper that two of the victims were caught in rising creek water in Stewart County and were swept away in its currents.

The heavy rainstorms followed a day of tornado activity in Arkansas which claimed the life of one woman and injured at least twenty more. Interstate 24 southeast of Nashville is closed due to flooding and it is unknown when it will re-open. People are being asked to stay off the roadways unless they must travel in the case of emergencies. The National Guard has been deployed to help residents recover from the storm.

The most hard-hit area of the state was in the southwest with Memphis reporting numerous streets and roadways impassable. In Millington, a levee was breached along the Big Creek River north of Memphis. It was reported that five feet of water had flooded up to 300 homes at the Naval Support Activity base there in Millington.

In neighboring Shelby county, the evacuation of hundreds of residents took place due to the rising threat of flooding, including Navy base residents and inmates at a federal penitentiary. Millington was so hard hit as a matter of fact that most roads going into and leaving the city had been closed due to flooding. A Red Cross shelter has been set up in Millington, after some residents were forced to escape by boat after up to seven feet of flood water threatened homes. The water was approaching and filling many homes so quickly that residents barely escaped in time. One resident reported waking up to water in his living room, which he had to swim through in order to make it out and up on the roof where he was picked up later by help arriving by boat.