CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Clarksville neighborhood was frozen in floodwaters for days, almost a week after last week’s deluge. Neighbors told News 2 that the only road out of their cul-de-sac had frozen, leaving them stranded for days and needing answers from city leadership.
“We were getting a double whammy,” Woodstock resident Melissa Stevens said.
In 2010, the Woodstock neighborhood flooded. However, residents said afterward, the city assured community members that the problem was solved.
But last weekend, over six inches of rain fell, flooding parts of Clarksville. By 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Woodstock residents were either being evacuated or weathering the storm.
“It was rising pretty quick and it kind of became a panic moment. I was like, ‘Well, it’s not getting any better,'” Woodstock resident DeAndre Stevens said. “…We just tried to start getting the things that were kind of crucial off the floor.”
Freezing temperatures arrived after the rains, encasing their street in ice. North Woodstock Drive became an ice rink as floodwaters froze, stranding some neighbors.
“Looking at how deep it is — we are going to be here for a minute,” Melissa said.
While floodwaters in other parts of the neighborhood subsided, the Stevenses and their neighbors are waiting for both help from city leadership and for temperatures to rise.
“How do we get this to a state where we can dig out, pump [water] out? Because many of our crawlspaces are underwater,” DeAndre said. “How do we get back to a state of normal? How do we get out of our neighborhood?”
“You got kids that have to go to school,” Melissa said. “How are they supposed to go to school? Half of them don’t have power.”
Their overflowing questions and stagnant floodwaters remain after Governor Bill Lee did not declare a state of emergency for Montgomery County, citing insufficient damage.
“We only make emergency declarations when an emergency rises to the level and there’s enough damage that warrants that,” Lee said. “There are things that we obviously do even short of that, and that’s what local officials are doing right now.”
The Stevenses told News 2 that even the city has failed to provide communication and adequate resources, providing only two pumps after the flooding had already started on Sunday to drain a full field of water.
“This was not supposed to do this, supposedly,” Melissa said. “Everybody in this neighborhood needs help.”
News 2 reached out to the mayor of Clarksville for a statement or plan of action, but as of publication, there was no response.
