KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Eleven people were reported dead after historic flooding swept through upper East Tennessee, according to a Tennessee Emergency Management Agency report sent Wednesday.
It said most of those deaths from Unicoi County, which saw severe flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. A list of the counties that saw weather-related deaths is available below, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.
- Cocke County: 2
- Greene County: 1
- Knox County: 1
- Johnson County: 1
- Unicoi County: 4
- Washington County: 2
The emergency management agency also said there were 23 remaining active leads, as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation continued to help search for missing people. The number does not represent the total number of unaccounted people, just the number of public leads.
Governor Bill Lee said Wednesday that the federal government approved his request for an expedited major disaster declaration for Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Johnson, Unicoi, and Washington counties. The declaration opens up additional funds to help those communities recover from the storm.
The emergency management said the Bristol Motor Speedway was designated as the Northeast Tennessee Disaster Relief Center, centralizing recovery efforts in a major location and helping people coordinate from a single place.
People who need help cleaning up after the flooding can call the Crisis Clean-Up Hotline at 844-965-1386.
TEMA warned that several boil water advisories were still in place Wednesday, as communities worked to repair water and wastewater infrastructure. A list of the impacted utilities with boil water advisory is available below.
- Carter County—Elizabethton Water Department
- Carter County—First Utility District of Carter County
- Carter County—South Elizabethton Utility District
- Cocke County—Newport Utilities Board
- Greene County—Cross Anchor Utility District
- Greene County—Chuckey Utility District
- Greene County—Glen Hills Utility District
- Greene County—Greenville Water and Light Commission
- Greene County—Mosheim Utility District
- Greene County—North Greene Utilities
- Jefferson County—Dandridge Water Department
- Sevier County—Webb Creek Utility District
- Sullivan County—Intermont Utility District
- Unicoi County—Erwin Utilities Authority
- Washington County— Jonesborough Water Department
Leaders also issued a temporary water contact advisory for most major bodies of water in East Tennessee. That includes the Nolichucky, French Broad, Pigeon, Doe, and Watauga rivers. People should not make contact with water from those rivers until the department can be certain they're not contaminated by sewage.
