Heavy rain and flooding expected to impact Nashville, Office of Emergency Management preparing

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Heavy rain brought by Hurricane Helene is expected to bring flooding and strong winds to Nashville, according to the Nashville Office of Emergency Management (OEM).

To prepare for the coming weather conditions, the OEM is working with the National Weather Service to monitor weather models through Thursday and Friday.

NWS has issued a wind advisory and a flood watch for the Metro Nashville Davison County area with four to six inches of rain expected between Thursday and Friday.

“A flood watch is when conditions are favorable for flooding, but flooding is not certain or imminent,” the OEM said. Wind advisories are issued “when sustained winds of 31 to 39 mph for an hour or more and/or wind gusts of 46 to 57 mph are expected for any duration.”

The OEM said they are preparing for the weather by taking these steps:

• Making sure all the inflatable boats and rafts are filled with air.
• OEM response squad trucks have been checked for fuel level, life jackets, and standard equipment.
• Our trailer with USAR-type supplies has been readied.
• Drone batteries for the search and water drones have been charged up.
• Emergency Support Unit members have been notified to be on standby and OEM reached out to several key members to ensure availability.
• OEM 24-hour dispatch center will have additional communication officers staffing the center to help with increased call volume received for weather-related incidents that need to be dispatched to appropriate departments. (Street flooding or ponding of roadways, storm drains stopped up, trees down, wires down, power outages, poles down, water rescue incidents, etc.)

Nashville Fire Department will also be adding extra staff to boat-supported companies and are prepared to add extra boat crews in preparation.

“OEM urges you to secure loose outdoor items, check drainage systems, and stay informed through official channels. Stay indoors during severe weather and avoid flooded areas. It is important you take precautions prior to and during this weather event both at home and when traveling along roadways,” said the OEM.

The NWS advises you to take these precautions:

• Know your safe places and clean them out.
• Make sure that you have emergency kit supplies.
• Continue to check local weather sources for the latest forecasts.

Nashville Electric will also be monitoring outages and advises to never go near downed or snagged powerlines. “f you see a downed wire, sparking transformer or any hazardous condition, it is very important to stay away and call 911 to report the issue. NES will be notified immediately to respond,” said the OEM.

Should outages occur, please report it:

• Call 615-736-6900
• Text “OUT” to 637797 (mobile phone must be tied to account)
• Log into NESpower.com or report it directly on our outage map at //NESpower.com/outages.

· Go online to NESpower.com to view our outage map for near real-time updates.

• We also provide storm information on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.

For more safety information and weather updates, you can sign up for the Metro Emergency Alert & Notification System (MEANS) program.

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