Drone 4 captures where water burst under railroads during floods

By Jeremy Finley

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    WAVERLY, Tennessee (WSMV) — While residents of Waverly continue to wonder why it seemed that water rushed into their town suddenly on Saturday, new video captured by Drone 4 may show part of the reason why.

After several residents described the sudden influx of water during the flood, News4 Investigates examined Drone 4 footage from that day, especially near the CSX Railroad where residents suspect massive amounts of water rushed through.

The video shows CSX tracks northeast of Waverly where two sections of the raised earth underneath has washed out, allowing water to rush through.

The raised earth under the tracks acted as a kind of levee, holding back high water coming from the swollen Trace Creek.

At one point during the floods, the water burst through, spilling out onto Highway 70, leaving behind muddy fields as the water rushed toward town.

The creek did run underneath the railroad, but the fact that the earth crumbled underneath the railroad indicates the water was so high and strong that it pushed through.

The video also shows CSX crews were out almost immediately trying to repair the areas.

Waverly Public Safety Chief Grant Gillespie said in a news conference Tuesday that they are looking into what happened at the railroad tracks but believes the sudden rise of water in town comes from several sources.

“This event didn’t just occur on Trace Creek. It’s just where the population occurred. Blue Creek, some of the other creeks, experienced just as devastating of flooding,” Gillespie said.

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