Nashville braces for deaths as flood waters rise

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Nashville is braced for more deaths as the flooded Cumberland River continued to swell, sending muddy water rushing through neighbourhoods and into parts of the historic heart of Music City.

The flooding came after a destructive line of weekend storms killed 22 people in Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky.

The flash floods caught the city off-guard, and thousands of residents and tourists were forced to flee homes and hotels as the river rapidly spilled over its banks. Eleven of the 12 people killed in Tennessee drowned, including six in Nashville.

Using motor boats, jet skis and canoes, authorities and volunteers rescued residents trapped in flooded homes on Monday, some which looked like islands surround by dark brown river water.

The downtown - home of a historic warehouse district that dates back to the 1800s and is now occupied by bars and restaurants - was nearly deserted Monday after authorities evacuated the area.

Country music landmark The Grand Ole Opry House was flooded with several feet of water, forcing managers to seek alternate space for upcoming shows.

The Opry House is part of the large Gaylord Opryland Hotel complex in Nashville. They took on water yesterday from the Cumberland River, which flooded due to heavy rains that have inundated parts of Tennessee.

The Grand Ole Opry has been held in the same space in east Nashville since 1974. The Opry puts on 150 shows a year, and the building hosts other concerts.

It's unclear how much water was in the Opry House but there is three metres of water in the nearby hotel.

The Cumberland River was expected to crest Monday afternoon at more than 3.35 metres above flood stage, and officials worried they may find more bodies in the rising floodwaters.

Thousands of people took refuge overnight in emergency shelters, including about 1,500 guests at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center who spent the night at a high school to escape the flooding.

The resort's hotel, located northeast of downtown along the river, had "significant water" inside and would remain closed indefinitely, said hotel spokeswoman Kim Keelor.

A life-sized Elvis statue, missing his guitar, was laying on its back in the parking lot of the Wax Museum of the Stars near Opryland Hotel.

Water flooded parking lots around the nearby Grand Ole Opry House and the Opry Mills shopping mall, but officials there would not immediately confirm if water had made it inside those buildings.

- AP