dageldog/iStockBy JULIA JACOBO, ABC NEWS
(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) — At least four people have died after heavy rain caused flooding to reach record levels in Nashville, Tennessee.
One of the victims was found at the Nashboro Village golf course, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department.
Investigators believe the victim, Douglas Hammond, 65, was swept away by high floodwaters after he got out of a car that ran off the road, police said. He lived near the golf course, authorities said.
Garry Cole, 70, of South Nashville, was found dead inside a car that was submerged by flooding from the creek next to a Walmart, police said later Sunday evening.
Two other victims, a 46-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman, were near a homeless camp in a wooded area adjacent to Wentworth-Caldwell Park, police said.
At least 130 people had to be rescued from flooded areas around Nashville, ABC Nashville affiliate WKRN-TV reported.
A Metro Nashville police officer was among those rescued, Nashville Mayor John Cooper told reporters at a news conference Sunday.
Officer Hendrik Kruger was driving home in his personal vehicle when he was swept away by fast-moving currents and managed to escape his car and cling to a tree until help arrived, Cooper said. He is now recovering from a leg injury at a local hospital.
Kruger’s car was later found in high waters, said Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Don Aaron.
Another person who tried to help Kruger after hearing his cries for help also had to be rescued after clinging to a tree, Aaron said.
More than 7 inches of rain have fallen in parts of the Nashville metro area in two days, the second-highest amount on record. Some waterways in Nashville have risen to their highest levels since 2010.
While the heaviest rain has moved east of the area, it still experienced some additional rainfall Sunday morning.
Some areas will continue to see rising waters throughout the afternoon, Cooper said.
Cooper signed a local state of emergency Sunday to seek state and federal resources for recovery efforts in Davidson County.
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