Nashville Rising

Anderson anchored from Nashville tonight and lead with the flood and how people are coping. Homes are still standing but inside the floods have destroyed many of their possessions. People have been taking items they hope to be able to save outside to dry out and have been piling up things that are not recoverable. Many people are volunteering and the efforts they have seen are incredible.

Anderson reported on a family searching for their loved one who was lost during the flood. Here's his report.


Anderson also spoke with Betty Belle Nicks the owner of the home he was reporting in front of. The water came from the back field very quickly and before they knew it they were trapped. She clung to a tree when the water rose and was eventually able to swim to her roof. Their three small dogs were able to survive but their bigger dog, Ben, swam away in the flood water. She and her husband of one week are hoping someone will see Ben and let them know.


When they returned from the break Brad Paisley joined Anderson to talk about what he's seen and how they are moving on. Here's the clip.

Gary Tuchman spent the day with rescuers from the Nashville Fire and Police departments going through houses in a neighborhood looking for survivors. Approximately 200 people have been saved by boats but more than 400 live in the neighborhood and rescuers are now looking for people who may have been left behind. After every house was checked in the neighborhood they had found no casualties.

Gary Tuchman and Martin Savidge joined Anderson next. Savidge discussed how people are reacting and the emotions people go through in this type of disaster. He also talked about how most people didnt have any flood insurance because the area had never flooded like this before. People are trying to move forward by airing out what they can and then trying to figure out what to do next. Tuchman discussed the differences he sees between this flood and previous incidents saying that in this area it was completely unexpected and rescuers don't have alot of experience dealing with floods. Martin Savidge also said that he felt almost as if he was eavesdropping as he walked down streets because everyone had to place their possessions outside to let them dry out.

Oil from the BP spill came on shore today. Controlled burns were conducted and the dome that will hopefully contain the spill arrived on site. Tom Foreman looked at how the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the spill in Alaska are similar. At this point the spill in the Gulf is only about 1/3 as big and the oil is entering the ecosystem more slowly. However, in Alaska there was a limited amount of oil but in the Gulf we don't know how much could spill.

Digging Deeper, Dan Simon reported from Alaska on how they are recovering from the Exxon Valdez disaster. Many Alaskans are still struggling after the 1989 spill. John Platt, a local fisherman, told Simon his story which is common to many Alaskans. Oil residue can still be found on the shore and there are still animals who are being exposed to the oil even after so much time. Dan Simon also spoke with Anderson after his report and had a statement provided from Exxon.

Next Anderson was joined by David Perkins and his son Will who had been going to rescue Will's Great Grandmother but ended up helping others after they found out she had already been rescued. They made around 15 trips with their boat and moved many people to safe locations.


Next was Anderson's interview with Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. Here's the clip.

And thanks to Cyn for a bonus clip of AC talking with Campbell Brown about his day spent in Nashville.


Tom Foreman had two bulletins during the night and discussed:

• the large drop in the DOW ending down 348 points
• violence in Greece is increasing
• UK exit polls suggest changes the conservative party will take the most seats but not a majority
• Actors in a convenience store who were acting out a robbery were interrupted by police officers who didn't know it wasn't real
• NFL linebacker Lawrence Taylor is denying charges made against him
• An new ash cloud in Iceland is combining with others to form a massive cloud causing problems for airports in Ireland.
• Chaz Bono is now legally a man

Have a great week everyone!


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