Local business begins clean-up following Hurricane Helene flooding

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (WJHL)—Across the region, clean-up crews are working hard to recover from Hurricane Helene’s flooding. In Elizabethton, one business is working to clear the mud that was swept into its store.

Doe River Wine and Spirits sits on Broad Street, right next to the Broad Street Bridge. The bridge saw major flooding that extended onto the street. The store’s Assistant Manager, Mike Clark, said employees were able to leave before the flooding started.

“We get trucks in on Friday,” said Clark. “They were putting up trucks when the cops came around and said we need to get out.”

Clark said they re-entered the store after the flooding began to subside to assess the damages.

“We had about a half inch of mud,” said Clark. “Anything on the floor we’ve got to go through it all and see what’s good and what isn’t.”

Although Clark theorizes that the store lost several thousands of dollars from the flood, he is thankful that all his employees are safe.

“Two of them had to evacuate their homes,” said Clark. “But they’re handling it.”

Although the store has flood insurance, Clark said they had no idea it could get this bad.

“It has withstood similar floods for a while,” said Clark. “We didn’t expect [it] to get anywhere near as tall as it is. You know, nobody did.”

Clark said he hopes the customers will continue to be patient with them as they clean the store.

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