Around 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 1, Pam Canady and her husband, Tony, left their Hickman County home for a late lunch. It was raining hard, and water was starting to collect in the pasture between their house and the nearby Piney River. But they weren’t concerned – they had seen that before.
Since moving to their rustic home on six acres near Dickson, Tenn., three years ago, they had enjoyed the beauty and tranquility of the river, canoeing and picnicking with their children and grandchildren along its banks. They had slept to the sound of the rain drumming on their tin roof, happy to be far from the noise of the city. A flood was the last thing on their minds.