The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has made a series of federal assistance programs available for the residents of Tennessee which includes rent payments for temporary housing, grants for much needed home repairs and unemployment benefits for those who have lost their jobs temporarily due to flood damage.

Volunteers, working alongside residents, began to dig through muddied possessions in flood damaged homes and businesses in Nashville. The efforts are being hindered however by power outages in several city neighborhoods. The overflowing Cumberland River is retreating but the muddy flood waters that put part of Nashville under deep water and forced evacuations has caused billions of dollars worth in losses.

There are at least 1,000 people in Tennessee who are now living in shelters, according to the American Red Cross and there are about 10,000 people still without power. Officials are pleading with city residents to conserve water as Nashville is relying on just one water treatment plant that was spared from the massive flooding. The other facility was undulated with water and had to be shut down. People in Nashville are slowly returning home to find mud riddled homes full of and saturated furniture.

A record-breaking weekend storm barreled into the area and dumped over twelve inches of rain in just two days, rapidly forcing water into homes, onto roadways and into some of Music City’s most well-known attractions. Parts of the Grand Ole Opry House are under water and the neighboring Opryland Hotel is said to remain closed for up to six months as a result of heavy damage.

Power outages were to blame for not alerting residents to leave their homes in time. Many people were forced to climb onto their rooftops to await rescue while others literally swam to dry land. Bodies were removed from homes and private property as well as from a wooded area and outside a local supermarket. Ten people in Nashville lost their lives to the flood while eight more elsewhere in the state of Tennessee were killed.

There were hundreds of boat rescues taking place over the past few days. Those water vessel rescues have wound down now, but emergency management officials were looking into a report of a home that was afloat in a northern neighborhood, checking to see if someone is in it. Hopefully the death count will not rise and the skies will remain clear so that a full recovery can take place.