By WKMS News Team
Murray, KY – UPDATED 11:45 AM CST
Clarksville Update
Water levels of the Cumberland River along the banks of Clarksville appear to be cresting at just over 16 feet above flood stage. Clarksville Emergency Management Deputy Director Jerry Buchanan.
"The water level looks like it may maybe has crested and has dropped just a hair in the last hour."
Power outages peaked yesterday at 4,000, and around 350 Montgomery County residents remain without power. Buchanan describes the scene in Clarksville.
"It's devastating really because very few people, well unless you see some older, older people, have never seen water this high in Clarksville."
Buchanan says at least one person died last night after their car ran off into the water. Clarksville officials imposed an 8:00pm curfew last night. Public Information Officer Elizabeth Black says a curfew is in effect from 8:00 pm tonight until 6:00 am tomorrow morning for areas within the city limits affected by flood waters.
Tennessee Travel
Interstates through Nashville, Tennessee are running normally again, according to state Department of Transportation officials. Traffic delays on I-24 and I-40 have cleared, though many exits into the city are still flooded. The Briley Parkway on the west side and near Opryland Mall remains underwater. The Nashville airport reports no delays.
Cuberland City Besieged by Rising Waters
Water is now rising along the Cumberland River in Stewart County. The water level is already 14 and a half feet above normal levels and is continuing to climb. If it rises another 3-4 feet in that area, it could endanger the TVA Coal Power Plant there. Cumberland City's 3 to 400 residents are now without water and are almost cut off via road access. Officials have closed State Highway 233. Stewart County Incident Commander Greg Barrow says no other major roads are closed at this time, but about 30 secondary roads have been shut down. Emergency officials continue to watch water levels as the surge continues downstream toward Dover.
FEMA Chief Joins Aerial Survey of Tennessee
Craig Fugate, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was one of the officials who flew over flooded parts of Tennessee Monday. He says it will be hard to put a dollar value on the damage.
"You know, it's bad, and my experience tells me that with flood damages, because you're so focused on response, you're still going to probably be several days in discovering how bad it is. But we're not going to wait until everything is counted up. We're going to act upon the governor's request that he put in today.
Governor Phil Bredesen actually handed the paperwork for a federal declaration of disaster status to the regional administrator for FEMA, Phil May. Fugate, the chief in D.C., says the agency will act expeditiously. Disaster status helps to soften financial damages that follow such a natural event. Fugate says it offers access to not only to FEMA programs but also those from the Small Business Administration.
"That will provide assistance to people who had uninsured losses, but it also brings Small Business Administration disaster loans, and this is going to be really important for the business community, in that the FEMA grant programs only are for individuals, if that's approved, but the small Business Administration disaster loans provide low-interest loans both for homeowners and for businesses impacted in this flood."
The FEMA boss says he saw many industrial areas hit by the severe flooding on his flight in from the western part of the state.
The US Army Crops of Engineers in Nashville says all dams affected by flooding are structurally sound. None are expected to breach, though engineers continue to monitor the situation.
Kentucky Area Road Closure Information
District 1 This morning there is a report that water is over KY-348 at the intersection with KY-450 in Graves County. The area has Water Over Road signage.
In Livingston County: KY-917 (at mile marker 2-7) is closed due to rising water levels; KY-93 (at mile marker 0-1) is closed due to rising water levels; KY-70 (at mile marker 0-13) is closed due to rising water levels; KY-2225 (at mile marker 3.4-3.6) is closed due to rising water levels; KY-133 (at mile marker 0) is closed due to rising water levels.
In Calloway County: KY-783 is closed due to a washed out cross drain between KY-464 and Magness Road.
In Hickman County: US-51 has REOPENED to traffic.
Crittenden-Lyon Counties: As of 8:40pm, KY-295 is closed at the county line due to high water in the Dycusburg area. Highway Maintenance crews are monitoring many highways that could be threatened by water. Water is reported rising six inches or more an hour in some places. Crittenden County Emergency Management has advised residents along the Cumberland and Ohio Rivers to evacuate due to the flood threat.
District 2 A significant number of highways have reopened to traffic and have been taken off the Water Over Road Report. The most significant highway that remains closed is US 62 near the Hopkins-Muhlenberg County Line. A complete list of closures for the 11 counties of highway district two is linked here.
Tennessee Area Closures
Fort Campbell is open today, but only to mission-essential personnel. The same goes for Blanchfield Army Community Hospital. Montgomery County courts are closed today. Sessions will be rescheduled after May 20th. Tennessee-area school closures include: Clarksville-Montgomery County, Stewart County, Dickson County, Miller Motte Technical College, and Weems Academy. A number of Clarksville-area public parks are closed as well.
Agriculture Loss in Northwestern Tennessee
Agricultural revenue loss adds to the economical hit Tennessee will take from this weekend's flooding. Montgomery County agriculture extension agent John Bartee says most of the river bottom crops are destroyed and it's possible the waters won't recede in time to replant. Flooding has also caused a small number of cattle deaths which will add to the amount of money lost from the flood. Bartee says there's still no estimate on how much the industry will lose, but the loss will be major.