Last Tuesday seemed like any other day in Chattanooga. That is until a routine evening summer storm turned into torrential rainfall, pouring nearly 6.5 inches of water onto a localized area over a three-hour period — the second most Chattanooga has seen in a single day since 1879.
East Ridge, Brainerd and East Brainerd saw the heaviest rainfall. A deluge of rain water flooded much of Interstate 24 in that area, leaving roughly 60 drivers trapped in the storm waters. The flash flooding led to school closures on Wednesday and shut down major roads as first responders evacuated stranded drivers.
Climatologists identified the rainfall as at least a 200-year flood event, if not approaching a 500-year occurrence — meaning such flooding, based on historical measurements, has a likelihood of happening once in that time span. Due to the storm, four people died, including two adults and a child, after a tree fell on their vehicle in East Ridge.
As is human nature, blame for such a tragic event is being cast around. Some, like Chattanooga City Council member Dennis Clark, pointed to the city’s aging stormwater infrastructure. Others are raising questions about the new $161 million I-24/I-75 interchange construction and whether it was appropriately built to sustain this level of flooding.