An intense summer storm brought down trees and power lines and caused flash flooding across Middle Tennessee on Saturday. It also led to a chaotic sheltering situation at Nissan Stadium, where a Garth Brooks concert was called off and fans were drenched.
In Nashville, at least 11,000 customers were without power around midnight, and by 3 p.m. Sunday some 1,000 were still waiting for service to be restored. Nashville Electric Service said its initial efforts were delayed by the storm’s frequent lightning. By Monday, service was largely restored.
Damage reports — mostly trees and downed power lines — spanned from Clarksville and Dickson to Springfield and White House, and south into Oak Hill and Eagleville.
The National Weather Service measured the heaviest rain in the Belle Meade area, which saw 4 inches fall. The rain pushed Richland Creek to moderate flood stage and Browns Creek to flood stage.
Meanwhile, some residents of an encampment next to Sevenmile Creek in South Nashville were swept into rising waters just before midnight. Nashville’s Office of Emergency Management said they were dispatched for a water rescue, but arrived to find everyone accounted for. That’s the same area where a man died during a flash flood in late March.
It was also nearly midnight by the time downtown Nashville parking garages had finally cleared after the cancelled Garth Brooks concert. The show has not yet been rescheduled. Numerous social media videos show fans struggling to find covered shelter during the deluge, and there have been dozens of irate comments blasting event organizers on the Facebook page for Nissan Stadium.
Others, though, used the moment to carry out their own vocal performances.
Don’t worry @garthbrooks We got it covered pic.twitter.com/hDzIMxZJch
— Chandler (@Chandler_E_F) August 1, 2021
Those who did reach the concourses were often shoulder-to-shoulder and largely unmasked at a time when health officials have been upping their warnings about the more-contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, and some venues have been shifting to new mask and vaccination policies.
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