Storm leaves at least 15 dead in Southeast

Image by Trinity via Flickr

By the CNN Wire Staff

May 3, 2010 9:43 a.m. EDT
 
Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- A storm that killed at least 15 people in Tennessee and Mississippi rolled into Georgia early Monday, flooding parts of Atlanta.


The rain and flooding left at least 11 dead Sunday in Tennessee, closing interstates, displacing thousands from their homes, prompting evacuations of hotels and nursing homes, and turning streets and parking lots into raging rivers.

Parts of the state were drenched with up to 20 inches of rain, and more was expected.

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The storm also killed four people in Mississippi.

The system moved into Georgia on Monday, delaying flights into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Thunderstorms and heavy rain were forecast to continue in north Georgia through Monday morning, with rainfall of up to 1 inch an hour possible, the National Weather Service said.

The storm snarled the morning commute in metro Atlanta, already one of the most congested traffic areas in the nation. No deaths or injuries were immediately reported.

In Tennessee, parts of Nashville were evacuated as a precautionary measure, the state's emergency management office said Monday morning.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol provided food and water to stranded motorists on westbound Interstate 40 at the rest stop at mile marker 172 near the Dickson exit. The motorists had been stranded there for about 15 hours.

Authorities reported that 91 trucks were stranded between mile markers 192 and 196 on eastbound I-40. The truck operators were offered help to evacuate, but all 91 opted to stay with their rigs.

The Cumberland River, which runs through Nashville, was expected to crest at around 51 feet, the mayor's emergency management office said.

"All of our major creeks and the Cumberland River are near flood level, if not at flood level," Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said at a news conference Sunday. "The ground is entirely saturated, and the rain continues to fall. There's nowhere for the water to go."

Dean said that more rain has fallen in Nashville in the last 24 hours than has ever been recorded in the city.

"We are still at this point in rescue stage and will be until the water begins to subside," he said.

The National Weather Service advised that major flooding was expected to continue along the river Monday, followed by a gradual decrease in water levels. The river was expected to fall below flood stage late Tuesday night.

About 12,000 sandbags have been delivered -- 6,000 in Nashville and 6,000 in Jackson.

Teams of inspectors will be mapping out the damage Monday morning, Nashville officials said.

Dean urged residents to skip work Monday. Nashville schools will be closed and public transportation will be suspended.

The American Red Cross reported that about 800 people were housed in 20 shelters.

Nashville's K.R. Harrington Water Treatment Plant will remain closed for several days, prompting Metro Water Services to order Davidson County residents to use water only for drinking and food preparation only.

The public water supply provided by Metro Water Services continued to be safe, the mayor's office said in a release.

Authorities recovered bodies from a flooded house in Nashville and from an overturned vehicle floating on a flooded road, among other places, the mayor's office said Sunday night.

In addition to flooding fatalities, one Tennessean died over the weekend in a tornado in Hardeman County, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said Sunday.

In Mississippi, officials in Benton County reported two deaths, and Lafayette and Union counties had one each, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said. The three counties are in the north-central part of the state.

The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes in the area.

Sunday's deaths in Mississippi came eight days after a monster tornado tore through the state and killed 10 people.

The western two-thirds of Tennessee has seen between 6 and 20 inches of rain since Saturday, with flooding spreading to Kentucky.

The National Weather service also issued a flood emergency for much of central Kentucky -- where tens of thousands were trying to get home after this weekend's Kentucky Derby -- and in south-central Indiana.

In Louisville, Kentucky, the National Turnpike and Gene Snyder Freeway were closed Sunday.