CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – On May 1, 2010 a rainy day soon took a historic turn. In a short period of time, a record breaking 11 inches of rain fell. Rivers began to rise and soon, much of historic downtown and low lying areas of Clarksville were under water.
‘The Great Flood’ or the ‘100 Year Flood’ had hit Montgomery County.
“I remember on that Saturday night before it hit, weather-wise, it didn’t look at the time like it was going to get that bad,” said Jerry Buchanan, in an interview with The Leaf Chronicle in 2015. Buchanan was the deputy-director of EMA during the flood. “But then the river kept rising, and by Monday morning, everything was cut off along the riverfront. It was just unreal, the height of the water.”
Flash flooding Sunday stalled cars, flooding homes, and leaving some stranded. But Monday, May 3, when the rivers began to rise, the community began to worry.
As one resident recalls, the water just wouldn’t stop rising.
“Throughout Sunday I watched the water rise very quickly up the basement steps,” said Gretchen Cordy, morning show host on the Q108’s Ryan & Gretchen. “As the water approached the breaker box I put everything that was worth anything as high as I could, turned off the electric to the house and went to spend the night with a friend. I had to walk up the hill behind my house and be picked up because the water was too high to get my car out.”
Even at that time, she still didn’t think it would reach the historic level it did. “The next morning Ryan came to pick me up for work. Halfway through the morning show one of my neighbors called and asked ‘Have you seen your house?'”
“When I got to the neighborhood I realized how futile it had been to put everything up on beds and tables. And so began the 6 month process of putting everything back together. You might think my memories would be nightmarish, and some are, but I have some great memories from that time as well. My neighbors, who were all going through the same battle, were so uplifting and wonderful. Through the flood I have made life long friends worth more than any house.”
The rivers crested on Tuesday, May 4, flooding downtown Clarksville and low lying areas around the county. By Wednesday, waters began to recede, bridges reopened, and citizens slowly came out to assess the damage.
In the end, over 300 hundred businesses and homes had sustained damage, totaling over $37 million.
On Friday, May 1, we’re sharing photos and memories from the ‘Great Flood’. Share with us at news@clarksvillenow.com.
