Extent of Helene devastation in northeast Tennessee comes into clearer focus

In East Tennessee on Tuesday, Gov. Bill Lee viewed a buckled road damaged by the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. (Photo: Brandon Hull/Office of the Governor)

The extent of the damage wrought in northeast Tennessee by the inland force of Hurricane Helene came into clearer focus Tuesday as Gov. Bill Lee and members of the state’s Congressional delegation toured affected areas.

At least eight people are dead, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Five days after disaster first struck, 46 people reported missing have still not been accounted for.

Water and sewage systems are in disrepair, requiring airlifts of drinking water to some isolated communities and boil advisories for people living in 17 water districts — some serving parts of Tennessee that lack electricity to power stovetops. As of Tuesday at 12:30 p.m., there were 5,000 reports of power outages statewide.

Preliminary engineering assessments have concluded that restoring damaged or destroyed roads and bridges will take many months and hundreds of millions of dollars.

“It’s evident that something historically horrific has happened here,” said Lee, speaking to reporters against the backdrop of a mangled and impassible bridge that once spanned the Nolichucky River in Unicoi County.

It was in this area that officials estimate raging floodwater roared past at a rate of 1.2 million gallons per second at the height of the weather event — surpassing the force of water hurtling over Niagara Falls.

Lee on Monday requested an expedited major disaster declaration from the federal government to increase the disaster aid already approved by the Biden Administration over the weekend. He also thanked local emergency responders, local churches and the National Guard — and acknowledged the growing demand for answers from families with still-missing loved ones.

Among the missing are workers at a plastics factory in Erwin, Tenn. In interviews with local TV stations and newspapers, family members of the missing and at least one employee who survived his escape from the Impact Plastics factory accused managers of forcing workers to remain on their shift as waters rose Friday morning. Impact Plastics did not respond to a message seeking comment sent through a web portal.

“There’s a lot unknown about what happened that day,” Lee said when questioned about the events at the factory. “I can’t speak to particulars about a certain building. We will know more as the days unfold. It’s also heartbreaking to think there is someone here in our community who is still looking for their loved one.”

State emergency officials also faced criticism for being slow to bring in interpreter services to communicate with Spanish-speaking residents in the area, including those still seeking word on missing family members.

“We did not know the size of the Spanish-speaking population here when this event started, but we are aware now and we are contracting with translating services,” said Patrick Sheehan, director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Sheehan said state officials brought in translators Monday.

Tennessee awaits decision on expedited federal aid

Tennessee counties devastated by Hurricane Helene are awaiting a decision on expedited federal aid as communities attempt to clean up the mud-caked remnants of streets and homes.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) and its federal counterpart (FEMA) are working “rapidly” to assess and record losses and damage — information needed for federal assistance.

Survivors can currently access resources through local organizations, the American Red Cross and Tennessee Voluntary Organizations in Natural Disasters (TNVOAD), according to TEMA . FEMA assistance will become available once a county has been declared part of the Expedited Major Disaster Declaration.

Lee requested that FEMA expedite a major disaster declaration for Tennessee in a letter to President Joe Biden on Sept. 30, highlighting immediate public and individual assistance needs in Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties. If the request is granted, it will open the door for additional federal aid authorized for those counties in previous emergency declarations. Lee also requested expedited public assistance for Grainger County.

“The storm has caused historic destruction. We anticipated hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and months of closures,” a statement from the Tennessee Department of Transportation said.

Biden has already issued major disaster declarations for Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia . He has approved emergency declarations, which provide limited federal assistance to bolster state and local recovery efforts, in Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia. Under an emergency declaration, FEMA provides direct Federal support to states for emergency protective measures including evacuation, sheltering, and search and rescue.

Biden’s Sept. 27 emergency declaration for Tennessee unlocked federal disaster assistance and funding for emergency measures including evacuation and shelter support in Cocke, Hawkins and Washington counties. The declaration also made federal funding available for direct federal assistance for Carter, Johnson and Unicoi counties.

A major disaster declaration — reserved for events causing severe damage beyond the response capabilities of state and local agencies — would broaden the range of federal help available to include funds for both emergency and permanent work.

Hampton resident: ‘Everywhere is in trouble’

Lee surveyed storm damage Tuesday, stopping at Elizabethton High School, which had been converted into a shelter for first responders and survivors. Cots were set up in gymnasiums and shelf-stable food lined the halls. Outside, volunteers prepared to serve hotdogs and French fries for lunch.

Carter County Mayor Patty Woodby told Lee that this was the worst natural disaster the region had ever seen.

“We are resilient, but this is hard,” she said, wiping away tears as she outlined the damage wrought by the storm.

Carter County’s largest high school — which holds around 400 students — was demolished, as was the fire department. County residents experienced widespread loss of power.

In Hampton, Tenn., Lee visited a residential neighborhood near the demolished high school. There, residents said Lee and his caravan were the first help they had seen since the storm first hit.

A handful of residents got heated, asking Woodby “where has everyone been?” At times, Woodby got emotional, saying she had been trying to get everywhere but communications were still down and she was unable to be everywhere at once.

Lee and other lawmakers stopped at destroyed homes where owners peeled up ruined flooring. Many hugged and thanked the governor and others for visiting. Orange tape marked homes where everyone was accounted for — not among the many people still reported missing. Mud caked everything from cars to clothing and fences, leaving neighborhood roads in shambles.

The sounds of Bobcats and other heavy equipment pervaded as cleanup efforts continued.

Bucky Greenwell built his home in Hampton in 1988. It survived the flood in 1998 and it survived Helene, but he lost a retaining wall and was removing wet debris from around his home on Monday. As he shook the governor’s hand, he said Lee was first state official he had seen in days. He was clearing out mud and muck with his equipment helping his neighbors where he could.

“In ‘98, everyone came out,” Greenwell said. “Difference is it’s everywhere this time – it’s everywhere. Everywhere is in trouble.”

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Flood debris piled outside the Elizabethton, Tennessee, water department. (Photo: Brandon Hull/Office of the Governor)

U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, facing camera, talks with officials in East Tennessee on Tuesday. (Photo: Brandon Hull/Office of the Governor)

Gov. Bill Lee views damage at an East Tennessee bridge destroyed by flooding from Hurricane Helene. (Photo: Brandon Hull/Office of the Governor)

Supplies, including bottled water, contrast with wrecked vehicles in standing water. (Photo: Brandon Hull/Office of the Governor)

Boil water advisories, utility outages persist

TEMA tallied about 5,000 reports of power outages throughout the state as of 12:30 p.m. Oct. 1. Wastewater treatment plants reported impacts or problems due to flooding in Cocke, Hamblen, Johnson and Unicoi counties.

Seventeen water systems issued boil water advisories after reporting operational issues with drinking water facilities:

• Carter County: Elizabethton Water Department, First Utility District of Carter County, South Elizabethton Utility District
• Cocke County: Newport Utilities Board
• Greene County: Cross Anchor Utility District, Chuckey Utility District, Glen Hills Utility District, Greenville Water and Light Commission, Mosheim Utility District, North Greene Utilities
• Jefferson County: Dandridge Water Department
• Johnson County: Mountain City Water Department
• Sevier County: Webb Creek Utility District
• Sullivan County: Intermont Utility District
• Unicoi County: Erwin Utilities Authority, Unicoi Utility District
• Washington County: Jonesborough Water Department

Multiple other utility districts in affected counties reported issues with operations at drinking water facilities as of 3 p.m. Oct. 1, according to TEMA .

Tennessee National Guardsmen have delivered more than 4,000 pounds of water to people in affected areas. Tennessee Highway Patrol helped deliver 19 pallets of water in Unicoi County Monday night.

Months of closures, millions of dollars in repairs

State officials on Tuesday cautioned that some roads and bridges in hard hit counties will face months of closures and require extensive repairs or total rebuilds.

“The storm has caused historic destruction. We anticipated hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and months of closures,” a statement from the Tennessee Department of Transportation said.

A total of five bridges are destroyed across three counties, including three that spanned the Nolichucky River, which stretches from North Carolina to Tennessee and saw record flows beginning Friday that swallowed the bridges in its path.

“There were 1.2 million gallons a second coming through this very place we’re standing,” Tennessee Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty said during the press conference with the governor held against the backdrop of a collapsed bridge over the Noluchucky River in Unicoi County. Hagerty noted the flow was more powerful than the Niagra Falls, which drops about 700,000 gallons of water per second.

Of 13 Tennessee bridges originally closed, 7 have reopened; of the 47 routes closed, 25 have been repaired and reopened. An additionally 12 locally owned bridges have been either washed out completely or closed temporarily awaiting an assessment, according to TDOT.

Dams see record releases

Water levels are now receding in most locations along the Tennessee Valley Authority’s tributary dams, which control water movement through the system, spokesperson Scott Brooks wrote in an email Tuesday. Cherokee Reservoir has yet to crest, and TVA initiated spill operations and ran all available generating turbines at Cherokee Dam as of Tuesday morning.

TVA’s record releases of stored water from its dams are causing localized flooding, but “the controlled releases are resulting in much lower river levels than would be possible if the dams weren’t in place,” Brooks wrote.

Douglas Dam in Sevier County has already seen record releases, and releases will increase from dams along the Tennessee River, which will raise water levels in Chattanooga and part of Alabama this week, though TVA expects levels to remain below flood stage. The Tennessee River will likely be closed to commercial navigation for several days due to high water flow, including at the Fort Loudoun and Chickamauga locks.

Kimberlee Kruesi with the Associated Press provided pool coverage for this story from Carter County.

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