The Great Flood and Great Nashvillians

Middle Tennessee was hit with a devastating flood May 1-3. This is a slideshow of the affected areas in Nashville, from our landmarks to our business district to our biggest tourist spots and the neighborhoods that were underwater.

From The Tennessean: "Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said the cost to residential, commercial and industrial property has soared to around $1.5 billion and would continue to climb. Estimates do not include the unknown cost to rebuild roadways, sidewalks, bridges and government buildings damaged in the flooding. Dean said Friday that Metro inspectors still had about 20 percent of the city to assess.
Initial reports showed flood damaged 9,300 land parcels and about 2,000 residential properties, according to information provided by Metro."

Estimates also don't count loss of tourism, loss of jobs, loss of industry. And the greatest loss, 31 human lives in the region to date.

Throughout this whole experience, Nashvillians have responded with spontaneous kindness and compassion, standing together in this time of great need. No looting or violence. People helping complete strangers. The Buddhist teachings would say this is an expression of our basic good heart, our innate bodhichitta (Sanskrit: "mind of enlightenment"). I say… I'm proud to be a Nashvillian.

To donate to Red Cross flood relief, click here.