KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Flooding is so bad in parts of Union County people are forced to use boats to get to their homes. The banks of Norris Lake overflowed after heavy rain led to flooding more than a week ago near Walkers Ford Road and Tower Road.
Neighbors says 15 homes are left stranded with many residents using boats to get home.
"It’s flooded. It is bad. It is very bad," said Doug Crawford, who lives in the stranded neighborhood. "We’re actually driving on top of the road right now. This is the road that we are in the boat over right now."
Today, Walkers Ford Road is little more than a slab of concrete under several feet of water. The road is a lifeline for about 15 homes in northern Union County. It’s the only way in, and the only way out.
"Nothing but water. The road’s covered," said Crawford. "Usually you can just go right through it. It doesn’t take two seconds to get where you’re going."
Cars are parked on either side of the water as residents use boats to connect their homes with the rest of the world. Doug Crawford has taken on the role of captain these days, trading a car for anything that will float him and his neighbors across the water.
"This is the commute every day," said Crawford. "I’ll call everybody up that we know needs to come in or out. We’ll all get into boats together. If there are too many of us, we’ll make two, three or even four trips."
Norris Lake usually sits peacefully just up the road. Over the past few days, its banks have eaten away at much of the neighborhood. Crawford says the road floods every couple of years, but rarely this badly. The County Road Commissioner says there’s nothing they can do but to let the waters recede. Only time will tell how long it will be before the stranded community is rescued from mother natures floods.
"It just gets worse the more you have to do it," said Crawford. "The rain that we just got, it brought it back up. It was actually going down and then it brought it back up quite a bit."