Nashville Flooding

By Jeff Weiss

There have been a lot of breaking news stories in the last few weeks, and a lot of it happened on or around the same time. There was an attempted terrorist attack in Times Square, the fallout of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the city of Nashville experienced a flood of Biblical proportions. I'm sure just about everyone has heard about the bomb scare in Times Square, and the news media has covered the oil spill so much that it seems as though they have spent at least one minute of air time devoted to every drop of oil that has spilled. But, what about the story of incredible tragedy and heartbreak in Nashville? It was covered on the news, but not as heavily as the other stories.

I'm not quite sure of the reason the Nashville flood didn't make headlines, but for those who may have heard about it but didn't get all of the details – here are a few bullet points:

* Nashville received 28% of its annual rainfall in two days between May 1st and 2nd.
* The Cumberland River 13 feet above flood stage.
* The estimated damage is at least $1.5 billion dollars (not including bridges and roads)
* 34 people lost their lives as a result of the flood

While local Tennessee television stations went live with wall-to-wall coverage of the disaster, the flood took a backseat on the major American television news programs, as the Times Square bomber and BP's Gulf Coast oil spill took center stage. Just when things started to quiet down about those others stories, coverage of the Nashville flood started to pick up – until the stock market tanked, and that became the story of the day.

Now, I understand that breaking news is urgent, and some stories will take priority over others. However, when human lives are in the balance – and our own neighbors and fellow citizens are suffering – that's when our country should come together to help. The easiest way to come together in this day and age in through information spread through television and the internet. In 2004, a telethon was organized for the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami within days of the tragedy. A year later, another telethon was organized within days of Hurricane Katrina's destructive hit to the Gulf Coast. Earlier this year, the same thing happened after the earthquake in Haiti. Those telethons were aired simultaneously on every major television network and cable channel in America. I understand that the flooding in Nashville is not as catastrophic as the tsunami, the earthquake in Haiti, or Hurricane Katrina, but it is nonetheless a devastating American disaster. On May 16, there will be a telethon to aid the victims of the flooding in Nashville. It will air on The Great American Country Television cable channel, a channel I admit I've never heard of and doubt I have access to view. Additionally, Faith Hill & Tim McGraw are doing a concert for flood relief in June.

Will you help our neighbors in Tennessee? You can start by logging into The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee's website, Second Harvest, or the American Red Cross and make a donation. Then, ask a friend to do the same.