COCKE COUNTY, Tenn. — Authorities in Cocke County held a press conference on Saturday afternoon, addressing a variety of topics such as rescue efforts, agencies that provided assistance and what the community can do to help after heavy rain and widespread flooding swept through East Tennessee.
Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis was the first to speak at the conference, saying that the widespread flooding from Hurricane Helene was a 100-year event for the county.
"However, I thank God for the people that we have on our team to handle this situation for us," Mathis said.
Mathis also said crews were able to rescue more people than they could count. He said many had been rescued by all measures such as water, land and even air efforts.
James Finchum, a Newport City administrator was the next to speak. Finchum said the city had suffered damage downtown, with the city hall and police station being "incapacitated." He said some operations had been moved to the Newport Community Center in light of downtown flooding.
Finchum said cleanup efforts had already begun at the city hall and planned for it to be reopened by the first of the week. He also said the city's biggest priority was to reopen the streets with downtown Newport "almost" in a reopened state.
"We are waiting on the state to come evaluate what we call the North Street Bridge," Finchum said. "There was a lot of debris that struck it overnight. They have to check it to make sure it is structurally sound before they can open it to vehicle traffic."
Finchum said the bridge was now open to foot traffic, but no vehicles would be allowed until the state officially cleared the bridge.
"We've got a lot of the power back on, we still have a lot of places we are working on," Finchum said.
He also said crews are unsure when water services will again be functional, but nothing can be done until water levels go down.
Cocke County Sheriff CJ Ball said crews were only responding to emergencies, with around 20-30 officers on shift compared to the usual five to six. Ball also advised those in the community not to reach out to the office through social media, as crews are too busy to check direct messages.
Authorities also said some propane tanks had been lifted from homes and floated away due to water levels. however, there have been no reported incidents involving the tanks.
Authorities with Cocke County Schools said they had not seen any damage to any of the school buildings. Authorities also said that school buses were used for a variety of rescues, including that of a hotel and even moving inmates from the jail to a new holding facility.
Two schools were used as shelters to help those displaced from flood waters, authorities said.
Authorities with the Tennova Newport Medical Center said they are operating at limited capacity due to a lack of water. They also shared some good news, saying they have received two 8,000-gallon water trailers.
The hospital added that it has not seen a power failure or had to use a backup generator.
Joe Esway, Cocke County Emergency Management Agency Director, said he and Mathis went up in a helicopter in an attempt to look for a deputy who had not been heard from for several hours.
"When the mayor found out that we were missing a deputy he said, 'Let's go'," Esway said.
Mathis later shared that the deputy had been found safe.
"We will keep sending emergency responders out as long as everyone is not accounted for," Esway said.
Esway said Authorities also provided a number for a Displaced Family Hotline. If anyone has a displaced family member, they can call (423) 540-5551. There is also a donation and volunteer number at (423) 540 -0171.
Items can also be dropped off at 601 West Broadway Street in Newport, according to Esway.
Mathis finished out the press conference, sharing there had been probably around 100 rescued as of Saturday afternoon.
"There is a saying 'Mountain Strong' and that is exactly what we are," Mathis said. "We will rise up from this."
Mathis said responders haven't lost a single person who has called for rescue and added that around 50 separate agencies had come together for rescue efforts after the heightened flooding.
"Let's be together, let's be unified," Mathis said. "let's be positive and pulled together then not only can we rise up from this but we can overcome anything that comes before us as a county."