The sun in shining, the nearby Cumberland River crested at 52 feet (12 feet about flood stage) and is receding. No reports of major damage to staff homes, although several staff have been stranded in their neighborhoods and unable to travel. Only a very small puddle in the basement at headquarters — we’re lucky to be on top of a high hill here. Still, we’re at 7th Ave., and the crest of the Cumberland reached as far as 5th Avenue (which is at the bottom of a steep hill).

All the results of 14 inches in two days. Saturday, it was wave after wave of torrential downpour, with eight inches in about 12 hours. The rest came Sunday. Previous two-day record for rain: Just over 6 inches.

I went out on my bike yesterday afternoon with a point and shoot camera. Here are some images from downtown, after all the rain and before the worst of the Cumberland River came last night. Here are some shots, with a little commentary. You can see far more extensive shots of the flooding at The Tennessean.

I apologize that scale for the horizontal shots is skewed a bit. For all these photos, CLICK to see a larger version of the shot. Please only share photos with attribution. (Photos by Lorin May) Thanks!

Below is the river yesterday before it crested. Shot taken from the pedestrian bridge, which the police closed just as I was finishing shooting. I’ve heard that the river went up by nearly an additional 10 feet by the middle of the night.

Below is a picture I took Feb. 2008, which shows the Cumberland River at its usual level. To my eyes, the difference in water levels is about 25-30 feet. I understand the river rose at least five feet and maybe more — after the above picture was taken.

Here’s a close-up below. Again, add 5-10 feet in you mind to get the total crest depth.

Includes a slice of the parking lot of LP Field, where the Titans play. The actual field is under water as well.

Joe’s Crab Shack on 2nd Ave.  The crest would have buried the window awnings.

Where the water is clear and blue, like the below, it’s not river run-off–just enormous puddles in low-lying areas.  Below is Rosa Parks Avenue, a major route into downtown. I estimate the deepest parts in this photo are 7-8 feet. If you click on the picture and enlarge, you can see a traffic light hanging not too far above the water.

A lot of pumps running and underground parking flooded. This new high rise did it all for naught — by night, this whole street might have been under water.

Another view of LP Field

The below picture ALMOST looks like a photojournalistic emotion shot — but it’s just a father pausing to assure his son while they walk back to their car. They were wading through maybe a 50 foot stretch of knee-deep water after having taken some pictures pictures on the pedestrian bridge.

This picture hits a personal note for other reasons.  To their right is a “bike lane” sign, which I”m used to passing several times a week on my favorite lunch-time biking route. The seven-mile stretch past this point, which I have pretty much memorized in minute detail, is now all underwater. That includes a major industrial area, two miles of parks and golf courses, a municipal airport, and a three-mile nature preserve. (I have no idea what’s happened to all the wildlife that lives there.) The flooding must continue far upstream and downstream as well. I can’t imagine how long it will take the businesses and nature to recover.

The huge Farmer’s Market by the Bicentennial Mall is one of Nashville’s jewels. It will likely recover far faster than most of the flooded businesses.

The amphitheater at the Bicentennial Mall (capital building in the distance). The stage is about 20 feet down. I had to bike through long stretches of foot-deep water to get this shot. The boys looked very nervous when I showed up because this area is all behind police tape. They resumed exploring after I shouted “I’m not an authority figure!”

Some parts of town were hard to get around — you often had to detour a mile or more to bypass some of the biggest puddles. Here’s a small one. I watched a Jeep go through on the sidewalk under this railroad trestle, water up its floorboards. This is roughly 50 feet from the river bank. This depression may by now be all filled with water.

Below shot, you can see the river covering First Avenue in the distance. When the river crested last night, this entire scene would have been under water.

The water could really make for some beautiful shots — that is, until you remember the terrible cost. Economic impact, particularly the areas by the Cumberland River, is going to be massive. Cleanup won’t start until the waters recede.

Below shot: If you look closely, you can see all the lights are still on. If you cut off the bottom half of the shot, it could have been any sunny day in Nashville.

Hundreds of people climbed the pedestrian bridge to check out the damage. Check out the buildings past the trees.

The landscape was filled with weird scenes like this — just standing water. This was nothing — NOTHING — compared to what it looks like on the north side of the Cumberland, which has much lower banks. For example, the Grand Ole Opry, the Opryland Hotel (largest hotel east of the Mississippi) and the Opryland Mall were under up to 12 feet of water.

First Avenue before the river crest.

Everywhere you went, there were tents and outdoor Saturday activities that had been planned for Saturday, the remnants of which had been abandoned. Apparently some kind of half-court basketball tourney had been scheduled.

Water level would have been five feet higher later that evening. A few blocks down the tracks is a major sewage treatment plant. One had already been flooded, and had the river crested one more foot, Nashville City would have been left with no sewage treatment facilities at all.

The below gentleman was not posing for this shot — he was flirting with three very lovely ladies behind me who had just completed a boat ride with him in very tight quarters. Guess even very heavy clouds have their silver lining!

All photos by Lorin May, May 3, 2010.