'Hundreds of millions of dollars' in storm damages estimated in Tennessee

(The Center Square) – The Tennessee Department of Transportation said Tuesday it anticipates "hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and months of closures" as the eastern part of the state continues to recover from Hurricane Helene.

Three bridges over the Nolichucky River and two over I-26 in Unicoi County are destroyed, according to the department, which will inspect locally-owned bridges on Thursday.

Crews "have worked tirelessly in the first 100 hours, to assess damage and inspect all state-owned bridges over water, 310 bridges across six counties in East Tennessee," the transportation department said in an update. "On Monday, crews hauled 58 loads of debris to the landfill from just one area of I-26 in Unicoi County."

Gov. Bill Lee toured counties affected by the storm on Tuesday, calling the damage "horrific" and "heartbreaking."

The state is still awaiting a major disaster declaration from President Joe Biden. Lee sent an expedited request on Tuesday evening, he said.

The governor declared a statewide emergency on Friday after the storm, which was predicted to hit middle Georgia, shifted east and hit eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina hard. Parts of South Carolina and Georgia also experienced strong winds and floods.

Biden approved a disaster declaration for Appling, Brooks, Coffee, Columbia, Jefferson, Liberty, Lowndes, Pierce, Richmond, Tattnall and Toombs counties in Georgia on Tuesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also announced assistance for Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Chatham, Clinch, Colquitt, Cook, Echols, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Lincoln, McDuffie, Montgomery, Screven, Telfair, Treutlen, Ware, Washington and Wheeler counties.