NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Four people have died after more than seven inches of rain fell in Nashville over the weekend, causing extreme flooding across the city.
Metro police said first responders were called to Nolensville Pike at Harding Place around 5 a.m. Sunday where a 70-year-old man, identified as Garry Cole, was found dead inside of a sedan submerged in a creek behind Walmart.
A second man, presumed to have drowned, was located around 7:30 a.m. on the Nashboro Village Golf Course, according to police.
Officers said it appeared the 65-year-old, identified as Douglas Hammond, was swept away by high water after getting out of his car that was stuck on Flintlock Court. He lived near the golf course, police said.
Metro police later confirmed two additional victims, a 46-year-old woman and a 64-year-old man, were found dead around 9:30 a.m. in a wooded area adjacent to Wentworth-Caldwell Park on Edmondson Pike, off Nolensville Pike.
The two bodies were located in a wooded area near a homeless camp, officers said.
The male victim was identified by investigators Monday as Fredrick Richards. Police said they were still working to notify the female victim’s relatives.
At least 130 people were rescued from flooded vehicles, apartments and homes in Nashville Saturday night into Sunday morning, according to the Nashville Fire Department. The department said 71 people were transported to hospitals, as a result.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper called the flooding historic. He said the seven inches of rain that fell accounts for the city’s second-highest, two-day rainfall ever recorded.
In a post on Twitter late Sunday, Mayor Cooper said he had signed an executive order declaring a local state of emergency, seeking state and federal resources to assist Davidson County with flood recovery.