Flood recovery worries poorer Nashville victims

May 6, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Raging torrents had shot furniture through walls and pushed houses into the street near Nashville’s historically black Fisk and Tennessee State universities. Only a few tent tops poked above the floodwaters Wednesday where dozens of homeless once lived along the still-swollen banks of the Cumberland River.

As the city’s vibrant country-music scene gets the attention, less-affluent victims wondered Wednesday how they will recover from the deadly floods.

“Being a minority, we’re the last on the list. That’s just the way it is,” said Troy Meneese, a 47-year-old custodian, as he aired out water-logged shoes, a couch and chairs in his yard in front of his brick, one-story home in north Nashville.

As Nashville’s Cumberland River continued to recede Wednesday, Mayor Karl Dean estimated the damage from weekend flooding easily could top $1 billion. The flooding and weekend storms killed at least 29 people in three states.

The flooding caused by record-busting rains of more than 13 inches in two days sent water rushing through hundreds of homes, forcing thousands to evacuate — some by boat and canoe — affecting both rich and poor in this metropolitan area of about 1 million.

In Meneese’s neighborhood, some residents and community members said they felt neglected, especially compared with the attention they believed country-music attractions and more-affluent neighborhoods were receiving.

His next-door neighbor, 73-year-old Evelyn Pearl Bell thumbed through her water-damaged items before she got so exhausted she had to take a break as temperatures climbed into the 80s. Volunteers had come by her house, saying they would help. But as of midday, no one had shown up.

Therman Bryant stood in his brother’s home and described how powerful floodwaters made it look as though somebody set off dynamite. The house had four large holes from where furniture went blasting through the walls, and a waterline could be seen about 51/2 feet above the floor.

“It was like a raging river that came in here,” said Bryant, 58.

Police conducted house-to-house searches in some parts of north Nashville on Wednesday, but some wondered if they should have come earlier.

Nashville’s mayor and other officials visited a relief center in north Nashville where food, water, tetanus shots and recovery information are available.

The National Weather Service in Nashville said Wednesday the river had fallen about 3 feet from its crest of 12 feet above flood stage Monday night.