Anderson in Nashville

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Death toll rises to 31 after Southeast stormsBy the CNN Wire Staff

May 6, 2010 12:00 p.m. EDT


Anderson Copper reports live from Nashville, with reaction from country music singers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on the flood devastation. Watch "AC360°," at 10 p.m. ET Thursday.

Nashville, Tennessee (CNN) -- The death toll has risen to 31 in three states from a massive weekend storm system that devastated parts of the Southeast, authorities said Thursday.

Twenty-one people have been confirmed dead in hard-hit Tennessee, including one from a tornado spawned by the heavy storms, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

The same storm system killed six people in Mississippi and four in Kentucky, emergency management officials said. The death toll could rise as rescue crews continue to search for people who have been reported missing, including two kayakers in Kentucky and others in Tennessee, officials said.

The waters have receded in much of Nashville on Thursday, nearly a week after record-setting rains swelled rivers to historic levels and flooded several neighborhoods.

Has the Tennessee flooding affected you? Share your story, images

"Nashville has obviously been hard-hit, and it's a well-known city, but there are so many other counties in the state and areas ... that have been hit very hard as well," Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said Thursday morning.

"A lot of people who didn't have flood insurance, because they never thought floodwaters would ever come anywhere near their home, are really looking at a total loss of their home," Bredesen said. "It's very tough on a lot of people right now."

President Obama has declared 10 Tennessee counties disaster areas.

Latest updates on the flooding and aftermath

"We're going to get through this," Bredesen said. "This is a very resilient state."

Nashville's mayor also seemed optimistic Wednesday night.

"We are coming out of this thing," Mayor Karl Dean said. "This has been devastating, but right now we're going to be focused on getting our city back up and working. "

Bus service resumes Thursday, and city government will report back to work, Dean said. Teachers and staff at schools also return to work, with students following the next day.

The iconic Country Music Hall of Fame also is expected to reopen before week's end. Nashville "will remain Music City, and we will go forward doing what we've been doing," Dean said.

The mayor estimated the flood damage to top $1 billion easily.

The worst, however, may have passed.

Even though the Cumberland River, which cuts through Nashville, stood about 13 feet above flood stage Wednesday, the floodwaters should recede significantly in the next couple of days.

"We're not expecting a significant amount of rain through Monday," said Jim Moser of the National Weather Service.

A main water treatment plant was still closed from the flooding Wednesday, prompting the city to tell residents to put off washing dishes and limit toilet flushing.

"Citizens are using water at a greater rate than we can treat it and pump it out to the community," said Sonia Harvat of Metro Water Services.

The city would be forced to rely on bottled water unless more people started conserving, officials said.

The governor earlier warned residents to be wary of con artists looking to capitalize on the flood response.

"There are always people who come in and do these scams of charging people -- and they seem to prey on elderly people an awful lot -- just charging people an awful lot to do something," Bredesen said. "[They say], 'I'm going to fix your house, you have to do it or the state's going to tear it down, and it's like $20,000. Write me a check or give me cash.' "

CNN iReport contributor Nathan Clark went to his father's house Saturday to help him salvage possessions as water from a flooded creek rose on the property in Dickson, west of Nashville. Clark said they got out just in time.

"The water was at the top of his truck's hood." he said. "If we had stayed any longer, we wouldn't have gotten out of there."

Sherry Qualls watched in horror Sunday as chest-deep water washed away her husband and daughter as he tried to save the girl from a rushing creek roaring through their backyard in Linden in western Tennessee, according to CNN affiliate WSMV-TV in Nashville.

"From his neck up, he was staring at me," Qualls said of her husband, Bobby. "He didn't say anything, just staring at me. She was screaming for her daddy to help her, and then by the time the rescue squad got here, I didn't see them any more. I didn't see them float away."

Their bodies were found the next day, washed almost a mile away, according to the TV station.

"People have lost everything," said singer Kenny Chesney who flew home to check on his house.

The damage Chesney saw from the air while flying in was nothing compared with what he's seen on the ground, he said.

"I didn't know what to think. I was numb to it all," he said.

The road leading to Chesney's 40-acre, waterfront property was under 5 feet of water, accessible only by motorboat.

"I lost a lot but not near as much as a lot of people," he said.

Chesney said the city that's been his home for more than a decade needs all the help it can get.

"We all saw what happened in Haiti and we all saw what happened all over the world. These people need just bare essentials -- here in Nashville. I know it's crazy to think that, but they do," he said. "These people need toothbrushes; they need toothpaste."