Tennessee leaders say Helene recovery will be a "long road"
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Interstate 26 bridges in Unicoi County. Photo: courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Transportation
Flooding that devastated East Tennessee last week will leave a long-lasting mark on the state. Leaders say the recovery effort will take months and many millions of dollars.
The latest: The remnants of Hurricane Helene crumpled bridges, swept away large chunks of busy interstates and made some rural communities inaccessible. The push to restore infrastructure, communication and clean drinking water has become the top focus for multiple state agencies.
- Eleven deaths in Tennessee have been confirmed so far. That number has grown as emergency crews are able to search difficult-to-access areas.
- Dozens of people are still missing.
What they're saying: "We're in the middle of what is a remarkably difficult and tragic [event] unfolding," Gov Bill Lee told reporters Wednesday, adding that the recovery would require "a tremendous amount of work."
- "There is a long road ahead."
By the numbers: The storm damaged more than 600 homes in four counties. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency reported 120 of those are considered destroyed.
- The Tennessee Department of Transportation said about 25 road closings remained in place Wednesday. Five state bridges were wiped out.
- Some 400 TDOT workers were still working to survey roads and bridges.
- "We anticipated hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and months of closures," the agency said, per the Tennessee Lookout.
Zoom in: Stretches of Interstate 40 and Interstate 26 that connect Tennessee to North Carolina remain closed. Transportation officials said it could take months to reopen I-40.
Between the lines: University of Tennessee professor Donald Maier, who works in the supply chain program, told WBIR the interstate closings could affect the flow of goods into the state.
- "If I'm a truck driver, you just added double the amount of time it would take just for me to go from Knoxville to Asheville," he said.
Zoom out: Nearly 400 National Guard members are working in the hardest-hit areas, according to Lee. Some have been using Black Hawk helicopters to deliver water and other supplies.
The big picture: Lee and others have stressed the unprecedented nature of the flooding in the northeast portion of the state.
- More than 1.2 million gallons per second passed through the Nolichucky River dam during the storm, TDOT's chief engineer Will Reid said.
- That's nearly double the peak flow of Niagara Falls.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect a new tally of storm-related fatalities.