NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has declared a state of emergency after catastrophic flooding hit swaths of East Tennessee courtesy of Hurricane Helene .
Helene dumped dozens of inches of rain across the Volunteer State Friday, Sept. 27, prompting multiple road closures around Middle and East Tennessee, starting flash floods around the Great Smoky Mountains and causing “substantial damage.”
Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday, Sept. 26 off the panhandle of Florida and into Georgia before weakening to a tropical depression over Tennessee-North Carolina border.
Death toll climbs after Helene slams the South The governor issued Executive Order No. 105 Friday afternoon. The declaration states Tennessee has “requested an Emergency Declaration from the President of the United States,” in part, and declared a major disaster and state of emergency beginning at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
During the state of emergency, certain state laws can be suspended to expediate relief efforts in the affected areas, including providing healthcare to individuals harmed by the storms, providing prescription medications, participating in health programs, waiving fees for licenses for people needing photo identification, allowing more vehicles transporting relief supplies to travel on ordinarily closed roads as needed, and more.
The state of emergency lasts until 11:59 p.m. Central Time on Nov. 10, per the executive order.
Multiple road closures were reported in Cocke, Carter and Unicoi counties, where flooding has impacted routes the most.
Dozens of people had to be rescued from the roof of Unicoi County Hospital as flood waters nearly overtook the Ballad Health facility.
Ballad Health: Everyone rescued from Unicoi County Hospital U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) issued a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to “swiftly approve” the governor’s disaster declaration. The letter urges the president to provide the approval “as soon as possible,” citing the “catastrophic flash flooding” that has “devastated communities across East Tennessee.”
Blackburn said some areas of the state received 6 to 10 inches of rain in just 48 hours, mentioning the Unicoi County Hospital rescue operation and more than 75,000 power outages reported in the wake of the storm.
The senator said more rainfall is expected over the weekend in Middle and West Tennessee, warning that more damage is coming to the state.
Blackburn’s letter was also signed by the entire Tennessee Congressional delegation, including U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R) and U.S. Reps. Chuck Fleischmann (R), Mark Green (R), Tim Burchett (R), Steve Cohen (D), Scott DesJarlais (R), David Kustoff (R), Diana Harshbarger (R), Andy Ogles (R) and John Rose (R).
On Saturday, Sept. 28, Biden approved the Emergency Declaration for Tennessee.
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The Tennessee National Guard has also been activated and is responding in East Tennessee to support state, county and local emergency responders in flood-stricken areas.
“Our priority is to rapidly deploy to the affected areas and assist emergency responders with rescue operations,” said Tennessee’s Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Warner Ross. “We are monitoring the situation and prepared to support as long as needed to ensure the safety of our fellow Tennesseans.”
The Tennessee National Guard earlier deployed to Unicoi County to rescue the physicians, staff and patients trapped on the roof of Unicoi County Hospital Friday. Within an hour of receiving the call for assistance, Tennessee National Guardsmen assigned to the 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion in Knoxville assembled three UH-60L Blackhawk helicopters and crew for aerial rescue operations.
All staff and patients were transported to a local high school, and the mission was completed at approximately 3:08 p.m., according to the Tennessee Military Department.
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