In a flood-ravaged Tennessee town, uncertainty hangs over the recovery

A mural in memory of Mary Luten, 59, who died while saving others in the Waverly flood, sits on display at The Walls Art Park. The flood on Aug. 21, 2021, killed 20 people and damaged more than 700 homes. (William DeShazer for NPR)

A flash flood watch had been issued by the Nashville office of the National Weather Service the evening before. Meteorologists expected two to three inches of rain an hour, and almost no one was prepared.

That included the 4,000 or so people who lived in Waverly, a small town an hour and a half west of Nashville.