Nashville braces for more flooding as river swells

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nashville braced for more deaths yesterday as the Cumberland River continued to swell, sending muddy water rushing through neighborhoods and into parts of the historic heart of Music City after a destructive line of weekend storms killed 28 people in Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky.

The flash floods caught the city off guard, and thousands of residents and tourists were forced to flee homes and hotels as the river rapidly spilled over its banks. Using motorboats, water scooters and canoes, authorities and volunteers rescued residents trapped in flooded homes, some which looked like islands surrounded by dark brown river water. As of Monday night, there were 10 flood-related deaths in Nashville.

Country music's landmark, The Grand Ole Opry House, was flooded with several feet of water, forcing managers to seek alternate space for upcoming shows. At least 10 feet of water flooded the nearby hotel.

The downtown, home of a historic warehouse district that dates to the 1800s and is now occupied by bars and restaurants, was nearly deserted after authorities evacuated the area.

Water seeped into a mechanical room in the basement of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Two blocks away, the historic Ryman Auditorium, longtime former home of the Grand Ole Opry, was in no immediate danger nor were many of the country music recording studios, located about a mile west of downtown.

On the east side of the river at LP Field, where the Tennessee Titans play, water covered the field and surrounding parking lot.

The Cumberland River was expected to crest at about 12 feet above flood stage, and officials worried they might find more bodies in the rising floodwaters. Thousands of people took refuge overnight in emergency shelters, including about 1,500 guests at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel who spent the night at a high school to escape the flooding.

A life-size Elvis statue, missing his guitar, was lying on its back in the parking lot of the Wax Museum of the Stars near Opryland Hotel.

The storms, which also spawned deadly tornadoes, killed at least 16 people in Tennessee - including one person killed by a tornado in the western part of the state - six in Mississippi and four in Kentucky.