Earlier this month, the National Weather Service (NWS) called the flooding in Humphreys County a “very dire situation.” Heavy rains on top of rising water caused the NWS to put out a flash flood emergency for several counties west of Nashville. Over 17 inches of rain was recorded in the small Tennessee community in under 24 hours, breaking the states own record for one-day rainfall by more than 3 inches which lead to heavy fast-paced flooding.

The flood has left 22 dead and multiple missing as well as causing severe destruction to the areas that were hit hardest. Twice the amount of rain poured down on the small town of Waverly before moving on to Humphrey’s County, with a population of around 18,000. Humphrey’s County is 60 miles (96 kilometers) west of Nashville and was the center for the devastation and destruction. 

Waverly City was flooded so heavily that accessing the city by vehicle was no longer an option and an 8pm curfew was issued and is still in effect for the citizens of Waverly as there have been reports of looting and trespassing throughout the county. 

After the flood, the state of Tennessee is starting to be rebuilt and search teams throughout the state are helping to locate victims of the flood that have gone missing. The searches for these missing people will continue until sunset and will resume on Monday morning. According to Nashville News Channel 5, the director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, Patrick Sheehan, said he expects to see mostly recovery efforts rather than rescue efforts at this point due to the number of fatalities that have already been reported.