An exclusive video obtained by American Military News highlights the devastation in Tennessee caused by Hurricane Helene, as thousands of people have been displaced and communities have been destroyed by the massive storm.
Over the past several days, Hurricane Helene has devastated a significant portion of the Appalachia region, leaving thousands of people missing and displaced. According to NBC News, at least 190 people have been killed from the hurricane and the flooding caused in the aftermath of the storm. The death toll is expected to continue to rise in the coming days.
The video obtained by American Military News shows volunteers from Abounding Grace Baptist Church in Jonesborough, Tennessee, gathering donations for individuals impacted by Hurricane Helene. The video also provides eyewitness accounts from volunteers in the region.
Volunteer Lisa Webber told American Military News, “I saw a picture yesterday from a guy, and there was a house in the middle of a road.” Describing houses impacted by the floods caused by Hurricane Helene, Kristi Webber said, “They’re either flattened or they’ve picked up and they’ve moved.”
Asked how many people in the area had been displaced by the flooding, the volunteers told American Military News, “All of them.”
Lisa Webber pointed to an example of a woman who was earnestly searching for her daughter. “My sister’s friend yesterday had a lady ask him if he’s seen her two year old daughter, and she hasn’t seen her in two days,” Webber said.
In a statement to American Military News, Leland Webber described his heartbreaking encounter with a victim of the Tennessee floods. He said an elderly woman was “crying because her house is completely gone, and it’s pretty just sad.”
Describing the family’s volunteer efforts, Ken Webber said, “We’ve been back there several times taking loads to the hurricane victims, the flood victims, actually. It’s devastating. You get back in there, and it’s just cars washed up and homes destroyed, people misplaced.”
“It’s heartbreaking, a lot of heartache,” Webber said. “I think the hardest one was, we were waiting to go across Jackson bridge, and there was an elderly couple that came walking by, and you could just, you could feel the heartache with those two. It hurt.”
Lisa Webber told American Military News that two National Guard troops had stopped by the location of their volunteer group to ask for directions to the area devastated by the hurricane.
Despite a slow response from the government in the wake of the tragedy, Ken Webber emphasized that the community is working together to help those in need. Webber said, “To see the community the way we’re coming together and trying to help out as much as possible, it’s been amazing.”
