JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
Chattanooga, known as Scenic City and Gig City, experienced severe weather and flooding last week in the evening hours of Tuesday, August, 12 and morning of Wednesday, August 13.
Residents were left with a rude awakening by Mother Nature , as the city experienced more than six inches of rain Tuesday, according to data collected from the National Weather Service. Half a foot of water was reported in certain areas of the city by early Wednesday, where emergency rescue was still on-site to help those caught in the midst of all the flooding. Parts of 1-24 were closed off due to high flood levels, shutting down Tuesday night between Interstate 75 and US 27 in the wake of flood waters engulfing the stretch of road.
Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp declared a state of emergency within the area on Tuesday, August 12, meeting with emergency personnel the following day to conduct recovery and recuse operations in neighborhoods most affected by the flooding. The leading cause of the floods, in addition to high precipitation, was due to large surges of water from local tributaries and creeks. As the creeks and waterways became overwhelmed, the surging currents quickly flooded low level neighborhoods and streets, leaving streams of raging water to engulf what was left in its path.
Four deaths in total were reported amidst the devastation, with over 35 rescues conducted by personnel from the Chattanooga Fire Department alone during one of the city’s most devastating floods in recent memory. The day was engrained as the second wettest in Chattanooga’s history, falling short of the Flood of 1867.
The Flood of 1867 was a cataclysmic event where combined rain and melting snow caused the Tennessee River to rise one foot every hour in the span of a four-day period. The rise in water levels caused a large area of the city to be submerged in deep waters, leaving death and devastation in its wake.
County officials plan to further tour and examine the amount of damage caused by the flash floods, with estimated numbers yet to be announced.
Photo by Chattanooga Fire Department