What did the May 2010 flood do to the city?
The City of Franklin reported 14.8 inches of rain at its Wastewater Plant during the May 2010 flood and about 440 structures damaged, according to the city's fire department history. Crews rescued people in the city and county over the following hours. The flood is the defining local water event, and it is the reason lower-lying parts of the city are watched after heavy rain.
A homeowner should read that record as a guide to how fast the lower ground can fill, not as a map of where water will go next. The readings on each property are the only answer to whether that property was reached.
What does a Franklin call look like in the first hour?
The first questions are the source, the shut-off and the safety of the household. A supply line in a finished wall, a sump that stopped in a storm and a creek that came into the yard each call for a different first step, so the caller is asked which one it is. The water is then stopped and the record starts.
The crew reads the building next. The readings decide which materials dry in place and which come out, and the equipment is set for the room. The homeowner receives the readings at each visit.
What should a Franklin homeowner check after heavy rain?
Walk the lowest part of the lot, the garage threshold and any window well for silt, a water line on a fence or a wall, and any standing water after the rain stops. Note the height of the line and photograph it, because that record is what helps a claim.
Clear the gutters and the drains, and make sure the downspouts carry the roof water well away from the foundation. A sump pit should be tested before each heavy storm, and a backwater valve, where one is fitted, should be checked by a plumber.
How the county seat handles a call differently
Franklin is the county seat, so county records, permits and the courthouse offices are close at hand, and a homeowner can check a property file in person when needed. The crew's record is kept to the same format for every address in the city, so an insurer reading a Franklin claim sees the same layout as one from Brentwood or Spring Hill. The first call asks for the address and the floor, and the county office named on the record is the one that holds the property's permit history.
Lower streets, creeks and the readings
Some of the city's lower streets sit near creek channels that overflowed in 2010, and the readings on those streets are taken at the lowest point of each lot first. A house on higher ground is read at its foundation and its garage threshold, because water can still enter from a low drive. The record notes the elevation of each opening measured against the street, which helps show how the water reached the house.
A seasonal record for the property
Franklin's record is best read with the owner's own photographs in hand. A dated photograph of the lower yard, the garage threshold and the basement wall, taken each spring, gives the crew a baseline to compare with after a storm. A water line that matches a photograph from an earlier season shows the water reached the same height, and it helps the insurer see a repeat loss.
