Tennessee woke up to heartbreak this week as torrential rains turned streets into rivers.
It claimed three lives and left one person still unaccounted for.
In East Ridge, near Chattanooga, tragedy struck when a tree, loosened by the storm, crashed onto a car, killing two adults and a child.
“It’s devastating… the kind of scene you never want to respond to,” a Hamilton County emergency official told the BBC.
Rescue Efforts Continue
Meanwhile, rescuers are still searching for a man swept away by floodwaters after first responders spotted him being carried downstream.
Whether he managed to get to safety remains unknown.
Chattanooga’s rainfall on Tuesday hit 6.42 inches — the second-wettest day in recorded history since 1879, according to the National Weather Service.
Flash flood warnings blanketed much of the state, from Chattanooga to Knoxville.
For hours, crews waded through murky waters, pulling stranded residents from flooded homes and vehicles.
In one tense rescue, firefighters helped six people escape a van that was nearly carried off by an overflowing creek.
With a local state of emergency declared, Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp urged vigilance.
After all, in weather like this, Mother Nature doesn’t just knock on the door — she kicks it down.
