reporter: about 200 people were rescued on the boats, but more than 400 people live in this subdivision, including many elderly. so the search is on for people alive or dead who may have been left behind. a yellow ribbon means the home has been checked. police went inside this house because the people who live here haven t been seen for days, but to their relief, it was empty. the rescue team comes into this neighborhood that smells like fish and mold with a healthy dose of apprehension. that s because this is one of the hardest hit communities in the nashville area. and with the death toll distressingly high in the state of tennessee, their hope is that the casualty toll stays at zero here by the time they re done with their search. hello? reporter: inside this house, the team finds 57-year-old grandma of 5, dottie mcleod. she was evacuated on a boat and just returned. were you thinking at one point, maybe i ll have to swim out of here? yeah, and i don t know how to swim. so i
reporter: inside this house, the team finds 57-year-old grandma of 5, dottie mcleod. she was evacuated on a boat and just returned. were you thinking at one point, maybe i ll have to swim out of here? yeah, and i don t know how to swim. so i was concerned. reporter: this community is right next to the beautiful cumberland river. this part of the river is about 9 feet below where i m standing right now. so we want to give you an idea of how quickly the water level went up here. one thing about floods, they re usually not gradual. people think they have time to get out and they come very quickly. and that s what happened over the weekend in this neighborhood. this is the water line. this is about 3 feet above here. but keep in mind, behind me, it was 9 feet, so the water went up by about 12 feet. hi. we re just okay, we re just checking to make sure everybody s accounted for. yes, sir. including your pets? reporter: there is hardship
more than 400 live in this subdivision, including many elderly. so the search is on for people alive or dead who may have been left behind. a yellow ribbon means the home has been checked. police went inside this house because the people who live here haven t been seen for days, but to their relief, it was empty. the rescue team comes into this neighborhood that smells like fish and mold with a healthy dose of apprehension. that s because this is one of the hardest hit communities in the nashville area. and with the death toll distressingly high in the state of tennessee, their hope is that the casualty toll stays at zero here by the time they re done with their search. hello? reporter: inside this house, the team finds 47-year-old grandmother of five, dottie mcleod. she was evacuated on a boat and just returned. were you thinking at one point, maybe i ll have to swim out of ear? yeah, and i don t know how to swim. so i was concerned. reporter: this community is
who are searching for their loved ones at this very moment and also helping their neighbors in need. we ll also take you to the gulf coast to look at what the spill looks like underwater. tonight we ll explore the environmental impact, how bad it could be or possibly how much better. we ll also bring you late word on the risky attempt to stop the leak a mile beneath the oil s surface. but we begin as we should, and as we should have beginning for many nights this last week, here in nashville on the ground. i want to show you some of what we have seen today. because any block you go down in this area here in bellevue in nashville, you see homes that are still standing, but inside, it is very deceiving, because inside those homes are completely gutted, they re completely destroyed. i want to walk over here and just show you the outside of the home of a woman named betty bell knicks, who she lives here. her home is still standing, but she had floodwater all the way up past t
tonight we ll explore the environmental impact, how bad it could be or possibly how much better. we ll also bring you late word on the risky attempt to stop the leak a mile beneath the oil s surface. but we begin as we should, and as we should have beginning for many nights this last week, here in nashville on the ground. i want to show you some of what we have seen today. because any block you go down in this area here in bellevue in nashville, you see homes that are still standing, but inside, it is very deceiving, because inside those homes are completely gutted, they re completely destroyed. i want to walk over here and just show you the outside of the home of a woman named betty bell knicks, who she lives here. her home is still standing, but she had floodwater all the way up past those windows. and as we have seen block after block in this entire neighborhood, there are hundreds if not thousands of homes which have been destroyed and folks have just been basically tak