The Flooding in Nashville

Today's Brief Rogue Corner will focus on one of the biggest stories that has not been covered in recent weeks. Several weeks ago around the time of the Kentucky Derby, central Tennessee was inundated with up to 15 inches of rain in a short period of time. The creeks, streams, and the Cumberland River flooded to record levels. Many of Nashville's famous landmarks flooded, including the Grand Old Opry, and LP Field. The Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills were for all practical purposes destroyed. As of the last report, up to 30 people were killed, and there were reports of others missing. Total damage was estimated at over $1.5 billion. Many people do not have flood insurance because no one thought a flood like this could happen. This is now the third southern U.S. metropolis to experience major flooding in 5 years, joining Atlanta in September, and New Orleans back in 2005.

Yet, unlike the Atlanta and New Orleans floods, you haven't heard much about the story. Obviously, the whole world focused on New Orleans with Katrina. And Atlanta is the home to CNN and The Weather Channel, so the story has personal implications for the reporters. But Nashville... When National folks think of Nashville, they think Country music, which means rednecks. And why in this day and age would anyone care about a city dominated by perceived hillbillies?

Some have speculated that Nashville didn't get enough coverage because there was no political angle to it. At the time, the Arizona Immigration Bill and Gulf Oil Spill dominated the headlines. Some reporters said that because the flooding had no political thread (unlike the other two stories), no media person was interested in it. OK, this city is reportedly the home of Al Gore, who screams about global warming, a natural disaster strikes that could be blamed on climate change, and no one wants to even visit his house and cover it?

Fortunately, the people of Tennessee have responded to the challenge. They are not waiting for the Fed to bail out the state. They are actually trying to pick up the pieces by the themselves and recover. They held a telethon recently to help raise over $1.5 million. The country stars also pitched in to help. And amazingly, not one of them blamed the government for not caring. In the end, I believe the people of middle Tennessee will make a complete recovery. I hope I get a chance to go back down to Nashville one day and help support the folks by spending money.