Water spiked over the banks of the Obion River early Sunday, violating levees and evacuating almost everyone in a small Tennessee town when roads and homes flooded.
Memphis’ National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency by Sunday morning, confirming that the embankment had failed near the town just south of Union City. Regions surrounding Rave saw about 7 inches of rainfall on Saturday, according to NWS Memphis meteorologist Amber Schlessigar.
Aftermath footage shows water completely covering the streets of the home, leaving behind partially submerged vehicles, suggesting where the roads and driveways are. The flood could only be identified by fence lines and dugouts that swallowed parts of the state’s Route 22 and released nearby baseball diamonds.
Obion County Mayor Steve Kerr declared a state of emergency in a town of about 250 people Sunday afternoon, urging the remaining residents to be aware of the forced evacuation order. No deaths have been reported, but Kerr said at a press conference on Sunday that “hearts are heavy” for the injured few.
Danny Jowers, director of the Obion County Emergency Management Agency, said nearly 200 people had been evacuated by Monday afternoon. Evacuations have stopped and waters are beginning to retreat in some parts of town, but the floods are not over yet.
NWS Memphis cancelled a flood emergency in the area on Monday, but issued another flood warning in the larger strip of Obion County as excess water moved downstream.
As extreme cold temperatures settle for the rest of the week, authorities are asking residents to stay away from flooded homes. Jowers said that flooded homes must be cleaned up by state inspectors before turning on the electricity.
Temperature is expected Soak in one digit By Thursday morning, Windchill will drive them to negatives, Schlesgeiger said. By Wednesday afternoon, the area will be able to gain 3-5 inches of snow.
“For people who don’t have a fever, it can be life-threatening cold,” she said.
It is not yet clear how many homes and other buildings are still damaged, according to Jowers. When the weather warms, there are better ideas.
But while the damage may be devastating for small communities, Jowers said it is likely not sufficient to qualify for federal assistance for disaster recovery.
“FEMA hasn’t come here,” he said.
Local officials say the flood stands out in recent memories
“Nature wasn’t very good on the last day or two,” Mayor Leicester Burns said at a press conference on Sunday.
The area is prone to flooding. Rives Fire Chief Campbell Rice said he has been flooding the town for 35 years each year.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Rice said.
Jowers, who lived in the area for most of 65 years, said the flood never covered the Great Ohio River in 1937, but the damage “at approaches” the flood caused by severe weather in 1997. He said it could be.
“It took a long time (because the water has it),” he said. “It’s been a long time since the state Route 22 was also closed.”
NWS Memphis does not have a data collection gauge in Rives, so the severity of this flood event cannot be directly compared to previous floods.
“It’s pretty important that the water can surpass that levee,” Schlesgeiger said.
Strike teams from Madison, Collierville, Tipton, Millington, Lake and Gibson counties have been deployed to Ribs to help with flood response. These teams began to go home on Monday.
West Tennessee Floods Come Weeks After the Tennessee Legislature Disaster relief package has been approved For communities recovering from Hurricane Helen on the other side of the state. Fatal flash floods destroyed hundreds of homes and wiped out roads and bridges in September. The aid package passed by state lawmakers includes a $100 million disaster response program for Hurricane Helen recovery and future state emergency situations, as well as three years to support local governments affected by Helen. $110 million was included.
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