CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — A tree fell on a car carrying a mother, father, and kid during severe rain and floods in Tennessee, killing all, according to an official Wednesday.
Amy Maxwell, a spokesman for the Hamilton County Office of Emergency Management, said the three were killed shortly after midnight when a huge tree fell in the Chattanooga neighborhood of East Ridge due to damp ground.
According to Maxwell, a man who stepped into a flooded road in Chattanooga on Tuesday night and hasn’t been seen since is still being sought Wednesday.
We don’t yet know the full scope of the devastation. According to Maxwell, county representatives were scheduled to visit the damage on Wednesday morning.
Rescues of people trapped in houses and swamped cars were made possible by the flooding on Tuesday, and the area was preparing for additional rain and flooding on Wednesday. On Tuesday night, Weston Wamp, the mayor of Hamilton County, proclaimed a local state of emergency. Extreme vigilance was advised for the residents.
Much of central Tennessee was under a flood watch through Wednesday night, according to the National Weather Service, which also warned of the potential for training storms, particularly over already saturated terrain, and sporadic flash flooding with tropical-like heavy rains.
According to fire department officials, Chattanooga firefighters saved homeowners who were stranded in their houses and people caught in cars. Interstate 24 in the region was partially closed by flooding, but it reopened once the floodwaters subsided.
According to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, swiftwater rescue crews were able to save the lives of three East Ridge homeowners who were stranded by rising floodwaters. According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Sheriff Austin Garrett stated that the flooding was more widespread than he had previously observed, pointing out that it is often focused in a single location.
This is really common. He claimed that it was challenging for us to even come here and attempt to assist others. So no, I’ve never witnessed it this bad, so pervasive in so many places, and affecting travel in such a way.
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