Weekly Winners (May 2 – 8)

This week has been surreal.

I have no idea how many people truly know the natural disaster that occurred in Nashville, Tennessee last Sunday. The National Media has been horribly MIA.

Middle Tennessee flooded. Grand Ole Opry had water three feet over its stage. Opryland Hotel will probably be closed for MONTHS as the bottom floor had over 10 feet of water inside. The Symphony Center lost two Steinway Grand Pianos and their Organ was badly damaged. The Cumberland River made it up to 2nd Avenue in downtown Nashville, cresting at close to 52 feet. Flood stage is 40 feet. 2,000 homes were damaged, and the footage is spookily similar to images that were shown post-Katrina in New Orleans. Damage totals are estimated at $1.5 Billion dollars, and that total is climbing. The warehouse in which many, many musicians stored their gear — instruments, sets, speakers, amps, monitor boards, video boards — got flooded. Lost gear is estimated to go into the millions there alone. I have heard it said in various places, that this may very well be (monetarily) one of the US’s worst natural disasters in history.

In the days since, I have seen an outpouring of love within the community. I have said it multiple times in this blog alone — this city has humbled me countless times in the last week. I now know why Tennessee is called the Volunteer State. People helping people. Looting has been practically none-existent. Instead, its been an outbreak of volunteering. Neighbors who were once strangers, and now dear friends. The biggest story of this flood is that camaraderie that has appeared out of nowhere.

So for this Weekly Winners,  I bring to you photos of the flood, with a few extras thrown in here. I’ve broken my self-imposed photo limit for this entry.

Now on to my photos… for more Weekly Winners, please visit Lotus. And give them all some love. And here’s hope for returning to some sort of normality here this week.

Rain drops
At my house, we just got rain last Sunday. I took this photo mid-afternoon in my front yard. We were thankful, so thankful, to be spared. But we watched in shock as the water continues to rise in Nashville. *

Nashville Flood 2010
The Music City Star, which is a key part of Nashville's transit system, partly covered in water. You can see in the foreground the Railroad Crossing signs covered up the the sign in water.

Nashville Flood 2010
Water rationing is having to happen, as the water treatment plant ended up submerged. Some gas stations were also underwater, and there was a brief time in which some stations were out of gas... because trucks could not get in to deliver fuel to stations.

Nashville Flood 2010
Nashville Skyline... the water in the forefront should not go that far out. LP Field, where the Tennessee Titans play, looked more like a soup bowl... just like the parking lots around it. (Field is not in the photo, but it would be not far to the right outside of frame.)

Nashville Flood 2010
The TA just off the Interstate. Yes, that's a car in the parking lot submerged in water.

Nashville Flood 2010
These trucks weren't going anywhere any time soon... They were parked in the TA parking lot. Notice the Salvation Army building also under water to the left.

Nashville Flood 2010
The Cumberland River... far out of its banks.

Nashville Flood 2010
We Sink or Swim Together -- this photo is now considered one of my most interesting on Flickr. Luckily, we've opted to all swim together. (The please stop pumping referred to the businesses that were pumping water out of their basements... and right into other's basements! Oops!)

Nashville Flood 2010
Joe's Crab Shack -- Yes, those are windows. The weird thing, at this point, the building STILL HAD POWER! A transformer didn't blow and that area of downtown lose power for another day!

Pinks
As if to bring hope, many fresh flowers began to bloom.

Batman Building
Batman building... lit! This week, this building lost power and went dark for the first time since it was built in the '90s. It was good to see it lit again! *

Symphony Center being cleaned up
Disaster Kleenup truck parked in front of our Symphony Center... the perfect way to close this Weekly Winners as we move on to a new week. *

♥ ♥ ♥

All photos (except those with * — those taken with my cell phone) taken using a Nikon Coolpix L20.

All of my photos available on my Flickr stream.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL MOM’S!!!


I am excited to be helping plan a benefit concert to be held in Nashville on May 17th. But I wanted to post that anyone wishing to help outside of Nashville can donate to our benefit. Pick one of our charities you’d like to support (Nashville Red Cross, Salvation Army, Nashville Humane Society, or Happy Tails Humane) and mail a check made out to THE CHARITY’S NAME to:

BANDing TOGETHER
P.O. Box 23474
Nashville, TN 37202-3474

17 thoughts on “Weekly Winners (May 2 – 8)”

  1. Your photos are heartbreaking, but I am glad you are helping to get the message out regarding Nashville’s need.

    1. Thank you… I’m trying! And thank you for your comment a few days ago… I meant to reply back but… really just never took the time. Your comment meant a lot. Just trying to get the word out to everyone. The lack of coverage has so frustrating and… hurts! But we’re keeping our heads up and banding together. It’s been amazing, really.

  2. Wow! These are amazing pictures. It looks so calm. Almost eerie to see a thriving city so without busy people. You did a great job capturing the everyday-ness of it. Disaster and yet life goes on. You made it look almost surreal and…pretty. The colors in the reflections. I know that it is not pretty for those who have damage. We went through major for us but minor in comparison flooding in March this year and a few years ago we had the Mother’s Day floods which we still talk about. But, they were nothing compared to what Nashville and the surrounding area is going through.

    1. Thank you SO very much…

      Whats funny is the day that I took the photos was GORGEOUS. It was almost cruel, and yet at the same time a very welcome relief. But, its also given me an insight into what people go through with Flooding. I would see footage on TV and my heart would go out to people. But I always would feel disconnected from it. Now… now I get it. This has been emotionally draining, not to mention financially and physically at times, but its definitely making me feel wiser and more understanding. And I guess that is something good that comes from this sort of thing.

  3. These photos are devastating for sure, but I have been SO MOVED by the strength and resolve and determination of the people of Nashville to restore their beautiful city and get back on its feet. Y’all are some tough stuff down there.

    Great shots!!

    1. Well put!! I’ve been humbled and moved more times this last week than I can count… Thank you SO very much.

  4. Wow. I had no idea. The news coverage didn’t make much of it. I hope the city gets back to normal soon, and people can resume their lives.

    1. Thanks… yes the lack of national coverage has left many around here angry and frustrated. Even the local media has been frustrated and baffled. We’ll get all back together and be better than ever! But… it’s going to take awhile.

  5. These pictures are awesome. Such a great job keeping us up to date on all the tragic rains in Nashville and surrounding areas. Nashville is a strong, close-knit city, and believe it or not, will be stronger because of this disaster. Thanks again for keeping us “in the loop” as our hearts broke for everyone going through this difficult time.

    1. Thank you much… hurry down and come see us! We miss you! I’ll continue to post as this city comes back together. And it will… like you said, stronger than ever!

    1. Thanks so much… some parts will take months to recover, but other areas are already back on their feet. One step at a time! Thanks again..

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