new alert right now. plus, is there a solution to the gulf oil mess? crews are down to their final options and a new strategy for any of this work in time? but first, but first, this is one for the history books. weekend storms spawn record flooding in the mid south killing 28 people. mostly in tennessee. flood waters are receding but the recovery is only just beginning. now we re starting to see the enormous scope of all of this damage. in nashville, pieces of american history might be washed away. the country music hall of fame is closed, grand ole opry house, gaylord opry house is submerged. famous honky tonks and restaurants in downtown nashville, many are closed due to extensive water damage. and lp field, home of the tennessee titans, also flooded by several feet of water. in all, parts of nashville received more than 13 inches of rain. that s a lot of rain. right now rescue crews are going door to door in surrounding
reporter: it happened because a record 13 inches of rain fell on the city in just two days. the cumberland river and other waterways rose faster than most people could imagine, trapping even a local pastor sunday morning. we were getting ready for church to go to church, and by the time we got out, the water had risen to our porch. the neighbors actually had to form a chain because the current was coming through each house. reporter: if the images on the ground were frightening, from the air they were staggering. murky brown water rose to roof tops. it even threatened lp field, home to the tennessee titans. the cumberland river has risen above 50 feet. the last time that happened was in the 1960s. nashville s mayor and tennessee s governor flew over the flooding and seemed taken aback. right here in nashville, it s an astonishing it s an astonishing sight for someone who has lived here a long time. reporter: the water has submerged one of the city s two water treatment plan
dramatic spike we have had since saturday morning. this is well beyond major flood stage. we do think at this time it s going to stay below record stage, but if we get beyond 52 feet that mean as major part of downtown could be flooded. this includes lp field, some of the train stations and some of the big touristy spots in the downtown area. we re approaching 51 feet and think this will crest as we reach the afternoon hours today. let s show you the radar now. we re looking at a strong line of thunderstorms across southern parts of alabama into georgia. we could see rainfall here beyond an inch per hour. so we are expecting renewed flooding in these areas. two to four inches easy. isolated amounts, heavier than that. we have flood watches across 16 states and travel very hazardous, not just in the floodwater areas but also with rain up and down the eastern
tennessee. the cumberland river is expected to crest over 50 feet today. the weather channel s mike seidel is in nashville this morning. what s the situation there? good morning. the river is still rising now 50.73 feet, rising at about an inch an hour. they have not seen it this high in over 70 years. last night when we went out to dinner this whole stretch along 2nd avenue is underwater. about 2:00 a.m. this morning, we got the knock on the door, get out of the hotel. they cleared us out and shut down a lot of the city blocks. basically nothing is going on downtown today. schools are shut down. you look across here, that s the pedestrian walking bridge. under that you can t make it out but that s the lp field where the titans play. they re going to have issues here. that field dips down low. water in the parking lot. thousands evacuated. neighborhoods are underwater this morning. interstates have been shut down. the only thing good about today is the fact that the rain has
side the barrier. it is already coming up. we ll exceed the 51.5. for the buildings in downtown nashville already dealing with flood waters up into the first floor and parking garages, this will exacerbate the problem in through here. four shelters are open. we heard too a little while ago the lp field right across the river is going to cut power. i thought it is interesting that rumor coincided with the report that they were going to release more water for the dams. means a higher river and that whole field will be under water. you wak walk in there and down to the field. that s something they have to contend with. interstate 24, both directions closed at many mile markers. interstate 40 as well. if we can get the water down from mill creek, we can start to relieve that issue there and get traffic moving around.