COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. — UPDATE MONDAY AFTERNOON: Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis offered hopeful news Monday afternoon of progress on some fronts as emergency officials help with recovery efforts.
All downtown Newport roads reopened Monday afternoon.
Mathis said in a social media update that he'd just spoken with the White House, and the Biden administration was ready to help meet the county's needs following last week's flooding disaster.
State agencies and officials also are pitching in to help, he said. The county has received four donated cruisers to replace those they lost while confronting the flooding and aftermath last week.
The county has been cleared to be included in the federal disaster recovery area, he said.
Earlier Monday, Sheriff C.J. Ball confirmed that two people had died in storm-related incidents.
Mathis said he's encouraged about the condition of the sewer system.
"It may be intact but we won't know until we get the water back on," he said.
The Tennessee Valley Authority has a pump for water that will be delivered. That will help the county's efforts to restore water service, he said.
"We’re preparing for this to be an extended outage for water,” he said.
All Cocke County shelters have been cleared, meaning those who sought shelter have now found places to go with family or friends, the mayor said.
Electricity outages were down to about 300, he said.
The mayor cautioned against driving near high-water areas, including roads along the Nolichucky River.
One bridge -- the Knob Creek Bridge near the Cocke-Greene county lines -- has been destroyed. "It's just gone," he said.
The mayor also asked county residents to ignore anything on social media they've seen that's not from an official page, such as an agency page or the mayor's page. There's a lot of false information and speculation on social media, he said, and none of it is helpful in recovery efforts.
"Please give us patience," he said.
PREVIOUS STORY: Cocke County Sheriff CJ Ball has confirmed the identity of two people who were killed in devastating flooding that hit the county.
Jean and Mike Obrist were killed in what Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis described as a "100-year event."
Mathis confirmed that no people were missing after he said crews were able to rescue more people than they could count.
As of 11 a.m. on Monday, Mathis said the county is transitioning to sustainment and recovery operations and that things are changing quickly. He plans on providing an update to the public at some point on Monday.
This story is ongoing and we will update you as we learn more.