Topic: Cumberland River

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Five of the costliest US river floods

The 2011 Mississippi River flood, which has broken records in some places, is creating steady destruction in America's midsection. Hurricanes tend to cause more financial damage, and flash floods typically take more lives. But overflowing rivers deliver a long, slow economic punch. Arkansas farmers have lost an estimated $500 million in crops to this year's flood. Mississippi homes and catfish farms – a leading industry – are threatened. In Louisiana, the diversion of water through a spillway to spare Baton Rouge and New Orleans still puts hundreds of homes, businesses, and chemical plants and oil refineries at risk. Total damages could run into the billions. Here's a look at five of the most expensive river floods in the US, according to estimates from the National Weather Service and historical accounts (reported in 2011 dollars):
Photos of the Day: Photos of the Day 05/04
In Pictures: Nashville Flooding

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Five of the costliest US river floods

The 2011 Mississippi River flood, which has broken records in some places, is creating steady destruction in America's midsection. Hurricanes tend to cause more financial damage, and flash floods typically take more lives. But overflowing rivers deliver a long, slow economic punch. Arkansas farmers have lost an estimated $500 million in crops to this year's flood. Mississippi homes and catfish farms – a leading industry – are threatened. In Louisiana, the diversion of water through a spillway to spare Baton Rouge and New Orleans still puts hundreds of homes, businesses, and chemical plants and oil refineries at risk. Total damages could run into the billions. Here's a look at five of the most expensive river floods in the US, according to estimates from the National Weather Service and historical accounts (reported in 2011 dollars):
Nashville flood damage tops $1.5 billion; Grand Ole Opry stage underwater

Four to 6 feet of water flooded the celebrated stage of Grand Ole Opry as 13 inches of pounding rain cause havoc in Nashville.
Nashville flood: The South's self-help disaster

While the Nashville, Tennessee, flood will bring federal aid, some complain the area became the nation's hidden disaster. But many Tennesseans are happy to clean up the mess on their own.
Photos of the Day: Photos of the Day 05/04
Grand Ole Opry flood and other crazy weather: El Niño's fault?

Two major weather phenomena that emerged last year – El Niño and the North Atlantic Oscillation – put a big kink in the jet stream and caused blizzards, tornadoes, and perhaps even last weekend's torrent in Tennessee, which caused the Grand Ole Opry flood.
Cumberland River flooding causes power outages in Nashville

As the Cumberland River begins to recede, power outages grip Nashville, Tenn.
Nashville flooding causes damage to downtown area

Nashville flooding damaged several areas in the city's downtown center. Water has been reported in the basement of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In Pictures: Nashville Flooding