TN River expected to recede soon; some areas remain flooded

HARDIN COUNTY, Tenn. — Officials are expecting the river stages at the Tennessee River in Savannah to start going down soon.

“The river stage is right at 380 [Thursday] morning, so we have some moderate flooding,” Hardin County Emergency Management Agency Director Melvin Martin said.

But as of now, multiple neighborhoods near the river are flooded.

“A lot of roads in areas, this is the Coffee Bottom area, we have several roads that are closed,” Martin said.

The flooding has reached the lower levels of some homes.

“We’ve seen areas that are flooded, the homes that are right along the riverbank, there’s quite a few of them that are the lower floors, but these houses are built up on stilts and higher floors, so everything is protected on higher floors,” Martin said.

Usually, stairs at the houses on the river go down about 20 feet, there’s a beach, then there’s the river. But as of now, the river is going up into the stairs.

“We’ve seen some propane tanks that are floating, and that’s a thing to remember — if you have a propane tank, be sure it’s secured,” Martin said.

Because of the flooding, in some areas only the roofs of sheds were showing over the top of the water, and a fence had floated away.

Martin says the water is expected to recede over the next few weeks.

“Just remember to, when you’re driving out, and the river goes down, the roads may be washed out, so just be careful, and as always, don’t drive through any flooded water,” Martin said.

Martin also said that three people had driven into the flood waters in the Coffee Bottoms and had to be rescued. They were OK, but their vehicles were not. He reminds drivers to turn around and don’t drown.