It’s been a tough year for Nashville: Tornadoes, a derecho, the pandemic and now an explosion
The blast injured at least three people, damaged dozens of buildings and left people shaken during what should have been a joyful holiday spent with family.
“It’s been Nashville’s hardest year,” Mayor John Cooper said Friday morning.
Here’s some of what the Music City has faced so far this year.
Christmas Day: A disturbing explosion
Friday’s explosion struck around Nashville’s 2nd Avenue, a street on the edge of the city’s hospitality and tourist district in an old, historic part of town. Just around the block from the scene is Lower Broadway, a major tourist destination for country music fans replete with honky-tonk bars.
The Metro Nashville Police Department’s hazardous devices unit was responding to a report from officers about a suspicious-seeming RV when the vehicle exploded around 6:30 a.m., according to police spokesman Don Aaron.
Three people were taken to hospitals from the scene, but none are in critical condition, said Nashville Fire spokesman Joseph Pleasant.
One officer was knocked down by the force of the explosion, while another experienced hearing loss, Aaron said. Fortunately, no officers were significantly injured.
The blast did, however, cause significant damage to the area.
Smoke filled the air on the street, cars erupted in flames, and nearby buildings saw glass blown out.
“Everything on the street was fire,” eyewitness Buck McCoy told CNN. “There were three cars that were fully engulfed.”
McCoy said the explosion took place in front of his home. When he looked outside, trees had fallen and broken glass was everywhere. People were filing out of their apartments with their animals, and he said firefighters told him to get as far away from the area as possible.
“There’s just nothing left on 2nd Avenue,” he added.
May: One of the largest power outages ever
Residents were cleaning up the damage for weeks after the storms first hit.
March: Deadly tornadoes
Before the derecho hit in May, Nashville residents had already experienced a devastating weather event just two months earlier.
Hours after the powerful storm hit the area, local officials were still searching through piles of rubble for survivors.
Numerous homes, restaurants and churches were left in ruins, with entire neighborhoods in Nashville destroyed and the damage stretching to nearby cities and suburbs in the state.
All year long: A devastating pandemic
The closures transformed the world-famous entertainment district that was normally bustling with tourists into a ghost town.
Musicians and owners of establishments found a way to make things work during those early days, raising money for employees who were out of work and lending stages to bands so that they could perform via livestream — and collect electronic tips.
And since around November, cases in the city have been surging.
CNN’s Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report.
