At least 10 people have died and 31 remain missing in severe flooding in Tennessee
The bodies were recovered after catastrophic flash flooding near Waverly closed US-70, the city’s main highway, and placed the community under a boil water advisory, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA).
Waverly is located in Humphreys County about 60 miles west of Nashville.
As of Saturday evening, about 10,000 people were without power in Hickman, Houston, and Humphreys counties and part of Dickson County, TEMA said.
The Tennessee National Guard said it is deploying nearly 50 soldiers to respond to the severe flooding.
“Our first priority is to assist with getting responders access to the area and conduct rescue operations,” Maj. Gen. Jeff Holmes said in a tweet.
A flash flood emergency was declared for portions of west-central Tennessee after very heavy rain and thunderstorms continued to fall over the same locations since Friday night.
Meanwhile, an estimated 10 inches to 12 inches of rain fell across Dickson, Hickman, Houston and Humphreys counties — leading to the dangerous flash flooding that covered roads, damaged residential areas and activated search and rescue operations, TEMA said in an update Saturday night.
The state National Guard said it sent a Blackhawk helicopter to the scene to assist with water rescues. Tactical vehicles and Humvees are also being used in rescue operations.
On Sunday, the state’s health department will send crisis counseling teams to the impacted areas to help survivors and first responders, TEMA noted.
CNN’s Joe Sutton contributed to this report.