WORST TRAGEDY : Latest on Knoxville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, East Tennessee weather warnings and…….
Scattered flood warnings remain as East Tennessee deals with the disastrous fallout from Hurricane Helene.Conditions are still dangerous, the National Weather Service and local officials warn. General flood warnings have expired, conditions are improving in Knoxville and worries of a potential failure of the Nolichucky Dan have eased.Here are the current warnings from the National Weather Service:A flood warning is in place through Monday for:French Broad River near Newport in Cocke and Jefferson countiesA flood warning is in place until 10:30 p.m. for:Knox County Sevier CountyFlooding caused by upstream dam release is occurring along the French Broad River below Douglas Dam,” the National Weather Service warned.The National Weather Service advises the following guidelines for remaining safe while driving in high winds:Maintain a safe distance from high-profile vehicles (large vehicles that can be difficult to handle), watch for fallen trees, powerlines or debris, main a strong grip on your steering wheel and be cautious when crossing overpasses/bridges.If you’ve got high-profile vehicles like vans, buses, and some SUVs, you’re just going to have to be extra careful and give people space between you and other drivers. The gusts you know are kind of instantaneous,” meteorologist Charles Dalton said.Hurricane Helene’s remnants devastated parts of East Tennessee with dangerous floods and winds that knocked down power lines and trees.As Unicoi County rescue efforts continue, 10 people still missing With the help of countless resources from across county and state lines, first responders in Unicoi County have been able to find a majority of the 33 people who were unaccounted for the afternoon of Sept. 28, Erwin Police Chief Regan Tilson told Knox News.We are very much still in search-and-rescue mode as opposed to recovery, but time is of the essence,” he said.There have been no confirmed deaths, Tilson said.Tilson expects to have more resources available Sept. 29 to search for the remaining 10 people. Help will come in the form of additional first responders, as well as the family and friends of missing people who have been searching on their own.The threat is not over, especially in the Great Smoky Mountains and along the Nolichucky River, where the threat of flooding remains, even in areas that might not have seen any yet.Here’s the latest on weather warnings and cleanup after what’s happened over the past several days.As Unicoi County rescue efforts continue, 10 people still missingWith the help of countless resources from across county and state lines, first responders in Unicoi County have been able to find a majority of the 33 people who were unaccounted for the afternoon of Sept. 28, Erwin Police Chief Regan Tilson told Knox News.We are very much still in search-and-rescue mode as opposed to recovery, but time is of the essence,” he said.There have been no confirmed deaths, Tilson said.Tilson expects to have more resources available Sept. 29 to search for the remaining 10 people. Help will come in the form of additional first responders, as well as the family and friends of missing people who have been searching on their own.Tilson plans to coordinate with those loved ones so that search efforts are not duplicated.More hands is better, and more boots is better,” he told Knox News. “And if it was my family, I would be searching, and you couldn’t tell me no.”An update on conditions is expected around 10 a.m. Sept. 29.East Knox County could see flooding from rising French Broad RiverEast Knox County could see flooding along the French Broad River as a result of the release of an increased amount of water from Douglas Dam, the Knoxville-Knox County Emergency Management Agency warned.Residents in areas along that river should be prepared for potential flooding and possible evacuation, the agency said in a news release around 3 p.m. Sept. 28Scattered flood warnings remain as East Tennessee deals with the disastrous fallout from Hurricane Helene.Conditions are still dangerous, the National Weather Service and local officials warn. General flood warnings have expired, conditions are improving in Knoxville and worries of a potential failure of the Nolichucky Dan have eased.Here are the current warnings from the National Weather Service:A flood warning is in place through Monday for:French Broad River near Newport in Cocke and Jefferson countiesA flood warning is in place until 10:30 p.m. for:Knox CountySevier CountyFlooding caused by upstream dam release is occurring along the French Broad River below Douglas Dam,” the National Weather Service warnedSafety tips for when driving in high wind conditionsThe National Weather Service advises the following guidelines for remaining safe while driving in high winds:Maintain a safe distance from high-profile vehicles (large vehicles that can be difficult to handle), watch for fallen trees, powerlines or debris, main a strong grip on your steering wheel and be cautious when crossing overpasses/bridges.If you’ve got high-profile vehicles like vans, buses, and some SUVs, you’re just going to have to be extra careful and give people space between you and other drivers. The gusts you know are kind of instantaneous,” meteorologist Charles Dalton said.This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Latest: Knoxville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee weather warnings after HeleneHurricane Helene’s remnants devastated parts of East Tennessee with dangerous floods and winds that knocked down power lines and trees.The threat is not over, especially in the Great Smoky Mountains and along the Nolichucky River, where the threat of flooding remains, even in areas that might not have seen any yet.As Unicoi County rescue efforts continue, 10 people still missingWith the help of countless resources from across county and state lines, first responders in Unicoi County have been able to find a majority of the 33 people who were unaccounted for the afternoon of Sept. 28, Erwin Police Chief Regan Tilson told Knox News.”We are very much still in search-and-rescue mode as opposed to recovery, but time is of the essence,” he said.There have been no confirmed deaths, Tilson said.Tilson expects to have more resources available Sept. 29 to search for the remaining 10 people. Help will come in the form of additional first responders, as well as the family and friends of missing people who have been searching on their own.Tilson plans to coordinate with those loved ones so that search efforts are not duplicated.More hands is better, and more boots is better,” he told Knox News. “And if it was my family, I would be searching, and you couldn’t tell me no.”An update on conditions is expected around 10 a.m. Sept. 29.East Knox County could see flooding from rising French Broad RiverEast Knox County could see flooding along the French Broad River as a result of the release of an increased amount of water from Douglas Dam, the Knoxville-Knox County Emergency Management Agency warned.Residents in areas along that river should be prepared for potential flooding and possible evacuation, the agency said in a news release around 3 p.m. Sept. 28.The French Broad is projected to rise 2 to 2.5 feet because of the discharge of water at the dam, the release stated. The release of swell water to maintain integrity of Douglas Dam could continue for two to three days.If evacuation is recommended, emergency response agencies and KEMA will notify the affected communities as quickly as possible, the release said.Crews working to provide water, shelter in East TennesseeJust after 2 p.m. Sept. 28, the town of Greeneville shared to social media that people should not go to the Greeneville Municipal Airport for water distribution.That information is incorrect,” the post read. “Water will be available eventually through the National Guard. RIGHT NOW the focus is rescuing people and taking care of immediate needs. Distributing water will come later when the manpower and supplies are ready.”Truck driver Bill Halterman said his wife is seven months pregnant and on the other side of a bridge that’s being blocked off by law enforcement. Halterman, who served in the National Guard, said his frustrations are swelling.How many days can they go without water?” he said. “The Guard should have been here last night.”Some residents in the flood’s path have traveled away from the carnage to churches set up as shelters, including Asbury United Methodist at 201 S. Main St. in Greenville. Manley Baptist Church in Morristown, located also 3603 W. Andrew Johnson Highway, also is serving as a shelter.The evening of Sept. 27, Bristol Motor Speedway opened its Medallion Campground to Hurricane Helene evacuees free-of-charge.A confluence of weather patterns over the eastern U.S. set up the historic flooding that forced people from their homes in the dead of night Friday along the Nolichucky River in Tennessee, as officials warned of dam failures and raging torrents ravaged communities.In several forecast discussions earlier in the week, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologists described a band of moisture ahead of Helene. This is called a predecessor events and they’ve been documented in the past to cause heavy rains ahead of the arrival of tropical storms and hurricanes.Along the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina on Wednesday and Thursday, almost 10 inches of rain fell in Asheville and 8 inches in Tryon, according to preliminary weather service data. Another six inches fell over the two days in Bristol-Johnson, Tennessee and more than four inches in Knoxville.Then Helene’s massive circulation moved into the mix with more rain, and then transitioned into a post tropical cyclone. Recent studies have shown some hurricanes are soaking up more moisture from the warming Gulf of Mexico, further enhancing rainfall totals.President Biden approves disaster reliefPresident Joe Biden approved emergency disaster relief aid for Tennessee Saturday morning.The president’s decision activates the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief and gives federal funding for “emergency protective measures,” according to a FEMA press release.The assistance is specifically for Carter, Johnson and Unicoi counties. Flash floods and mudslides caused emergency evacuations, especially along river banks.Gov. Bill Lee declared an emergency and requested the funds.Knoxville road closures remain SaturdayThese roads are still closed because of The Tennessee Valley Authority overnight issued a warning of a dam breach as a precaution, saying the lack of visibility and rising water made it hard to assess the situation at that point. By 4 p.m. Sept. 28, TVA reported that Nolichucky Dam had been found to be “stable and secure” as water levels continued to drop. “We are notifying local emergency management agencies that we are transitioning to an advanced monitoring mode of the dam and exiting the emergency condition,” TVA said is a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.Earlier in the day, TVA said in a news release that water levels at the same were receding at about a foot an hour.
