Multiple people missing amid ‘catastrophic’ flooding in Tennessee, North Carolina

 

Multiple people are missing across Tennessee and North Carolina amid heavy rainfall that brought on severe flooding. North Carolina was recently battered by the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred, causing at least four deaths in Haywood County.

Rainfall in middle Tennessee has shattered records for water levels on the Piney River, according to the National Weather Service. More than 11 inches of rain was dumped on parts of Hickman County early Saturday morning. A state of emergency is in effect through Saturday afternoon in Dickson, Hickman, Houston and Humphreys counties.

McEwan, Tennessee, saw 14.5 inches of rain, the Tennessee Valley Authority said. A flash flood emergency is also in effect in Waverly, McEwen and Tennessee Ridge through Saturday evening.

The situation was “life-threatening,” the Nashville National Weather Service said in a tweet Saturday.

“People are trapped in their homes and have no way to get out,” NWS Nashville meteorologist Krissy Hurley told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. “Water is up to their necks. It is catastrophic, the worst kind of situation.”

Several people are missing in the region, according to Hickman County Chief Deputy Rob Edwards.

An additional 1 to 2 inches of rain is possible in areas that already received between 8 and 12 inches Saturday morning, the National Weather Service said.

In North Carolina, four people have been confirmed dead in the flooding brought on by Fred this week, after two bodies were recovered Saturday. Their identities have not been made public. Franklin McKenzie, 67, and Frank Mungo, 86, were previously identified among the dead.

Seven people are still missing in Haywood County, including Judy Ann Mason, who has been missing since around 3 p.m. Tuesday from Laurel Bank Campground in Canton, a family friend told The Asheville Citizen Times.

Mason’s daughter, Naomi Haney, said the last text she got from her mother was, “Anything can happen to anyone any time.”

Day three of search and rescue was underway Saturday in Haywood, with teams from the other side of the state assisting in the search of miles of riverbank and rugged terrain.

Haywood County flood survivor: ‘I just saw everything floating away’

Cruso, North Carolina, is a small town that received some of the worst damage in the storm.

“It’s gone. There’s nothing there,” Sherrie McArthur, who owns Laurel Bank Campground in the area, told the Citizen Times. “I had 100 sites, and they’re all gone. I had campers in there — most all of them are gone, except maybe 10. What is still left is squashed, crushed. Some of them went totally down the river — I don’t know where they’ll be.”

Emergency officials with cadaver dogs were on site Thursday, McArthur said.

Contributing: Brinley Hineman and Rachel Wegner, Nashville Tennessean; John Boyle and Joel Burgess, Asheville Citizen Times