Heidi Alexander: “there is no bigger, no more heart- wrenching, no more inspiring story today than what happened in Nashville in the 48…”

“there is no bigger, no more heart- wrenching, no more inspiring story today than what happened in Nashville in the 48 hours on May 1 and 2, over that weekend, when 2 to 4 inches of rain were expected and up to 17 inches came. As a result of that--from the Opryland Hotel outside Nashville to the Millington naval station near Memphis--all across Tennessee there have been devastating floods. It is, according to the Weather Service, a 1,000-year rainfall event. I do not know how anybody knows what a 1,000-year rainfall event is-- that is a long time--but this was not a 20-year flood or a 100-year flood, this was a 1,000-year rainfall event that overtook the people of Tennessee. As a result, our Governor, Phil Bredesen, has asked the President to identify 52 counties--from the Nashville area to all the way across our State to the Mississippi River--as disaster areas. The President has responded swiftly. Forty-two of those 52 counties have been designated as disaster areas. Some people say to me: Well, there has not been so much news about this Tennessee flood. There are two reasons for it. One is, there has been a lot of other news. Greece has been collapsing. A bomber tried to blow up Times Square. There is turmoil over immigration in Arizona. There is the gulf oilspill which threatens to be the worst in history.…”