Helene's floodwaters devastate East Tennessee

More than 50 people have fled onto the rooftop of Unicoi County Hospital in East Tennessee due to surging floodwaters driven by the remnants of Hurricane Helene .

State and federal agencies are working together on "what can only be described as a dangerous rescue operation," according to a news release from Ballad Health, which owns the hospital.

• The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, one of the agencies working on the rescue, reported that the hospital had become "inundated" by midday and that "evacuations are complicated by the Nolichucky River, which is rapidly rising and full of debris."
• The hospital is located in Erwin, Tennessee, along the North Carolina border northeast of Asheville.

Zoom in: Ballad reports it received instructions to evacuate from the Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency at 9:38am local time. Unicoi County sent ambulances to help with the evacuation, "however, the flooding of the property happened so quickly, the ambulances could not safely approach the hospital," the Ballad statement read.

• The state deployed rescue boats, but the force of the rising flood waters "became extremely dangerous and impassable."
• Powerful wind made a helicopter rescue impossible.

What they're saying: Ballad said 54 people remained on the roof with an additional seven stuck on rescue boats as of 12:27pm local time.

• "We ask everyone to please pray for the people at Unicoi County Hospital, the first responders on scene, the military leaders who are actively working to help and our state leaders," the company statement read.