The United States Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District announced Thursday they would study Trace Creek in Humphreys County, Tennessee. This is the same creek that flooded in Waverly, Tennessee in August of 2021 that is responsible for claiming the lives of 22 people.
Project Manager Ashley Fuentes in the Nashville District’s Project Planning Branch said the federally funded Floodplain Management Services Study (FPMS) will take approximately two years to complete at a cost of a little more than $200,000.
Fuentes said the team will “look at site-specific data on obstructions to flood flows, flood formation, and timing; flood depths, stages, or floodwater velocities; the extent, duration, and frequency of flooding; information on natural and cultural flood plain resources; and flood loss potentials before and after the use of flood plain management measures.”
She continued with the knowledge from the hydrology and the hydrologic models, her team might be able to “improve building practices, make sure residents and officials are aware of where the floodplain is and have a better idea of the flood risk in a particular area, help the community understand where the dangerous spots are, and demonstrate to decision-makers and agencies that Waverly and Humphreys County are serious about protecting themselves.”
She added the information would be able to help provide useful information for officials assisting residents that apply for financial assistance or that need help with flood insurance.
Thomas Herbert, Nashville District Plan Formulation Section chief, said the Floodplain Management Services Study’s results will be used primarily to inform decision-makers in Tennessee and Humphreys County regarding floodplain management along Trace Creek.
Last year The Tennessee Star reported the damage caused during the Waverly flooding. Nearly two dozen residents of Waverly were reported dead following the seventeen inches of rain that fell in less than 24 hours. Dozens were still missing the following Monday, along with multiple businesses and homes destroyed, powerlines and cell towers wiped out, and a road washed out.
In a recent interview on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, Waverly Mayor Buddy Frazier said that reconstruction efforts were ongoing, and that the number one priority for the town is to restore and rebuild the housing that was lost in the flood.
“We have 273 residential homes that were either totally damaged within the city of Waverly or totally destroyed. So the recovery process has begun basically immediately trying to get a lot of housing restored,” Frazier said.
The Mayor added:
One of the biggest needs that we have right now in trying to establish residential housing, we have a shortage of licensed electricians and skilled plumbers. We definitely need electricians and skilled plumbers in our area taking some of this work and helping us to get some of these houses rehabilitated. That’s our greatest need today, I guess, is those skills. And then after that, monetary donations can still be made to United Way of Humphreys County.
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Morgan Nicole Veysey is a reporter for The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow her on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
