The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency released footage of extensive flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in Northeast Tennessee on September 28, urging residents to “not self-deploy without coordination with local officials.”
“We know this is going to be a very long recovery as most disasters are. We would just ask that you continue to look out for your families, look out for your communities, look out for your neighbours,” a member of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation said that bridges and roadways suffered “historic damage” and that the brunt of the impact was felt in Washington, Carter, Unicoi, Johnson, Greene, and Cocke Counties.
“This is unprecedented in terms of impact to structures. We expect this to cause significant travel issues, as long-term closures will be in place across the region,” the department said. Credit: Tennessee Emergency Management Agency via Storyful
Video Transcript
We know this is going to be a very long recovery.
As most disasters are, we’ve just asked that you continue to look out for your families, look out for your communities, look out for your neighbors.
Volunteers are being asked to wait until life safety measures are completed in these counties.
So they don’t interfere with uh the first responders as they perform this important work.
But as we look at donations, we also would like to reiterate that cash donations are typically the best option at this point for survivors.
Uh One of the areas you can look at is the East Tennessee Foundation uh to do to complete that action, we know this is going to be a very long recovery.
As most disasters are.
We’ve just asked that you continue to look out for your families, look out for your communities, look out for your neighbors.
Volunteers are being asked to wait until life safety measures are completed in these counties.
So they don’t interfere with uh the first responders as they perform this important work.
But as we look at donations, we also would like to reiterate that cash donations are typically the best option at this point for survivors.
Uh One of the areas you can look at is the East Tennessee Foundation uh to do to complete that action.