Jeffrey Fuller was delivering for O'Reilly when he got a call from a neighbor that his Carter County home was flooding. His 28-year-old daughter, Kayla Fuller, wasn't picking up the phone.
Fuller left work and rushed to his home just north of the Doe River on Spring Street, where a residential neighborhood within the unincorporated community of Hampton has been wrecked by unprecedented flooding brought on by Hurricane Helene.
On Sept. 27, water flowed north onto Spring Street before seeping inside homes, where some residents kept attics open in case flooding reached roof levels. Days later, residents are deciding whether to leave the area - like the water that has since receded - or to rebuild as they scavenge through rubble for anything that looks like home.
Spring Street is a microcosm of the devastation facing Hampton, a community of around 2,000, as well as the larger East Tennessee region. While neighbors are collectively experiencing grief, they must individually overcome their own unique hardships for life to feel normal again.
Water flowed through Hampton, Tennessee, 'like a freight train'
Fuller parked a street away and waded through waist-high water to reach his home while avoiding small rapids that had formed. To avoid being swept off his feet, he held on tightly to a dog leash tied around a tree.
Once he made it to the house, Fuller pounded on the back door and woke up his daughter. Unaware of the flooding, she opened the front door, and their young Jack Russell Terrier jumped outside. Fuller grabbed the dog off the front porch, which was later swept away by the flood.
When the French doors of the house burst open and water began pouring in, Fuller placed the dog, Jackson, on a countertop. He had time to make sure picture albums, important documents, family VHS tapes and, most importantly, his daughter were safe.
The two stayed inside the home until water receded.
"I couldn't get (my daughter) out. I couldn't have gotten out. And there was no warning," Fuller said. "The water was just going by our window, passed through here just like a freight train. We were in the house for four or five hours before the water started going back down."
Before Fuller, his sister had owned the home, which belonged to his parents before they died. His mother, father and the home survived the 1998 flood that also devastated Carter County.
"It was a mess back then, too," Fuller said. "I believe this is a worse flood."
Carter County residents without flood insurance after Helene
Fuller has torn up the floors and plywood to get moisture out of the house before mold sets in, and he has been working under the house to take out the ventilation system, which is filled with mud now. His carport, lawnmowers and vehicles were swept away, and his furniture and appliances are unsalvageable.
Fuller has received help from his family and the Hampton community − even from two people from Virginia who traveled to East Tennessee to assist with cleanup.
His goal is to make the house livable. That means working to refurbish at least one bedroom and bathroom so he can move back in, rather than commute 25 minutes from his sister's home in Piney Flats.
"I don't have flood insurance ," Fuller said, a statement that's true for most East Tennesseans. "I talked to my insurance, and there's nothing they can do for me."
His daughter, Stacy Lower, set up a GoFundMe campaign to support her dad. While he doesn't feel the support is something he deserves, the thought of people helping him rebuild is enough to make him cry.
Hampton High School hit hard, sewage system bursts in home
Spring Street leads south to Hampton High School, where the football stadium and concession stand were torn apart. Fences and debris were scattered across the field, and the main parking lot is in ruins with crumbling asphalt, sand dunes and chasms.
The school is right along the Doe River, which overflowed due to Hurricane Helene and spilled into people's homes. Up the street, Keisha Debnam and her son were inside their home on Spring Street for more than seven hours until a rescue team led by the Carter County Sheriff's Office could reach them.
Debnam's mother-in-law, Becky Greenwell, owns the house, which she helped to build − with an emphasis on flood preparation − after the 1998 flood. Greenwell was visiting family in Roan Mountain when the flooding started and was there for three days before she could get back to Hampton.
"We've had tremendous help from the citizens of the community," Greenwell said.
One of the toughest parts of the cleanup process for Christine and Jeff Largent has been the smell. They can only work inside their home on Spring Street for short intervals after their sewage system burst in the flooding.
They've also lost cars, a pool, a garage and appliances. Last year, they completed around $28,000 worth of updates to the house. They hope their home and flood insurance will help to cover some of the loss.
"(We have to) start over. We have to, somewhere," said Christine Largent who, along with her husband, moved back to Hampton in 2015. "It's devastating. ... I've never been through anything like this."
Washed away and narrowly escaping is 'all God'
Toward the end of Spring Street, floodwaters reached Jerry Poole as he was standing in his unattached garage, where he spends his time working on classic cars. It wasn't long before there was "like 6 feet of water," he said, which swept him up along with the building.
The floodwaters carried him to a nearby water tower where he found his footing and could get to safety.
"From there, it's all God," Poole said. "Everything that's been done − the volunteers − it's been a blessing."
Despite all his challenges − the loss of his home and the lack of flood insurance − there's nowhere other than Hampton he'd rather be. His plan is to rebuild, he said.
While the devastation might seem unbearable, the people of Hampton persist to build back stronger. After two major floods in less than 30 years, Hampton and Spring Street should not be forgotten.
"I had (Gov. Bill Lee) here two days ago − him and (U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn)," Fuller said, referring to the politicians' recent trips to the hardest-hit areas. "I told them, 'When you leave here, don't forget about us because we still have to live here.'"
Keenan Thomas is a higher education reporter. Email keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com . X, formerly known as Twitter @specialk2real .
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: 'Don't forget about us': This Tennessee town of 2,000 has been ravaged by flooding before
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