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Flood of 1937

Posted by on Friday, March 11, 2011 in News, Winter 2011.



On the first Saturday in May 2010, the rain began to fall. It kept on falling through Sunday, and when it finally stopped, Nashville was hit by a thousand-year flood. The Cumberland River rose to 51.86 feet, a level not seen since 1937.

This photo shows two WSM reporters working from a boat to cover the flood of 1937. That year, after a month of steady rain, sleet and snow, the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers overflowed their banks in Tennessee and 11 other states. The water took weeks to subside, and as a result of the disaster, Kentucky Dam and Lake were built as flood control measures.

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Responses

  • Mary W Mulligan

    October 4th, 2011

    The 1937 picture of the flood is a good reminder of how we are prone to natural disasters and that we need to be prepared for more to come in the future.

    Mary