First of all, I am safe and dry at home, so I'm in a much better situation than many, and I appreciate how very blessed I am.
Now that the rain has stopped and we've had a chance to figure out what the situation is, it is apparent that the situation is BAD. Really bad. The affected area is incredibly widespread. Temporary shelters are at capacity. There are people missing and unaccounted for. Homes have been destroyed. One of 2 water treatment plants in Nashville is under water, so we have got to conserve as much water as possible.
Nashville's treasures: historical buildings, greenways, museums, entertainment venues, sports arenas, hotels, and so on are flooded. Many of them are without power to pump out the water, and will remain that way until maybe Friday. Aside from the obvious reasons why this is bad consider the fact that Tennessee does not have a state income tax. The tax revenues generated by these businesses are utterly crucial parts of our economy.
I will say that it has been really wonderful seeing people band together as a community to help each other out in this situation. People with boats have been out rescuing their neighbors. Others have gotten together to help with sandbagging.
There are quite a few ways to help, whether you're local or not. Here's a list of what I know of.
Hands on Nashville ( http://www.hon.org ) is organizing local volunteer efforts. Recovery is going to take some real time, so even if you're not immediately available, there will be opportunities later.
Red Cross ( http://www.nashvilleredcross.org ) You can donate through the website or by calling (615) 250-4300. You can also text 'REDCROSS' to 90999 to donate $10 to disaster relief. Please note that the text method sends money to the Red Cross as a whole, not necessarily Nashville. Of course they're going to do good things with it, but it may or may not be here.
Second Harvest Food Bank ( http://www.secondharvestmidtn.org ) Donations of money can be made through the website.
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee ( http://www.cfmt.org/floodrelief ) is accepting donations to support flood relief, restoration and clean up online at or by calling (615) 321-4939.
Nashville Humane Association ( http://www.nashvillehumane.org ) is the place to send your donations if you'd like to help out pets who have been affected.
One of the people who was killed in the flooding is Joshua Landtroop. He was a father of 2 young boys, Heath and Tristan, and a friend to many. If you'd like to contribute to the memorial trust fund for his sons, you can send via paypal here http://landtroop.com or send a check to Joshua Landtroop Trust Fund at Family Advantage Federal Credit Union, PO Box 39, Spring Hill, TN 37174
