Chris Davis, the sheriff of Humphreys County, Tenn., told reporters on Friday that the scorched aftermath of the explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems was undoubtedly “one of the most devastating situations that I’ve been on in my career.”
He also mentioned another: In 2021, heavy rains unleashed powerful flash floods that swept through the hilly and heavily wooded expanse of rural central Tennessee that is his jurisdiction.
Twenty people were killed in the floods. Some of those who survived had searing accounts of spouses and children being yanked from their clutches, and of watching helplessly as the waters carried away screaming neighbors.
In the areas with the worst flooding, like the town of Waverly, houses were lifted from their foundations and destroyed. Many downtown businesses were swamped with water and mud. The flooding also washed out the narrow country lanes and bridges that had connected residents living in more remote corners of the region.
The disaster four years ago is already informing the current one. In news conferences on Friday, Mr. Davis said he was holding back from divulging much in the way of specific information about the explosion, including the death toll, until he could speak with absolute certainty.
In the hours and days after the flood, the number of people who were unaccounted for fluctuated considerably. Now, in another period of chaos and confusion, the sheriff does not want to add more, he said.
“We had some mistakes during the flood,” Mr. Davis said, referring to “some things put out in terms of names and numbers and that kind of thing.”
“I don’t want that today,” he said.
Rick Rojas is the Atlanta bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the South.
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