Governor Lee, lawmakers tasked with surveying the damage, meets with flood victims in East Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – State leaders are traveling to eastern Tennessee to survey damage from Tropical Storm Helene.

Gov. Bill Lee and Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty will meet with local officials in Unicoi County on Tuesday afternoon.

The trio will be joined by Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) Director Patrick Sheehan.

Governor Lee and Senator Blackburn are expected to inspect the ground damage and meet with flood victims.

According to the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH), six people have died following devastating flooding in Helene.

• One in Johnson County
• One in Knox County
• Three in Unicoi County
• One in Washington County

Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis confirmed during a news conference Sunday that two people had died, although TDH did not say whether the deaths were related to the storm.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said there are currently 102 active missing persons cases:

• Carter County: 60
• Johnson County: 2
• Unicoi County: 10
• Washington County: 30

A hotline has been established to report missing persons believed to be in affected areas in East Tennessee.

Water and wastewater infrastructure was severely impacted in affected areas, forcing many areas to be placed under a boil water advisory.

On Monday, Lee requested an expedited major disaster declaration for Unicoi, Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Johnson and Washington counties.

Donor collection points are being established in the affected counties, information about these points can be found on the TEMA website.

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