Cocke County Officials Give Flood Update
Cocke County and Newport City officials held a briefing on the flooding situation Saturday afternoon. According to Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis, both the Pigeon and the French Broad River shattered their previous high levels at the same time, creating a 100 year flood. Mathis says that numerous people had been rescued via water, land and even by air.
Sheriff CJ Ball asked residents that are experiencing an emergency to either call 911 or the sheriff’s department’s non-emergency number. Do not try to contact the sheriff’s office for help through their Facebook page. The sheriff also noted that both local and officers from 8-10 different counties have been assisting in the recovery efforts.
City Administrator James Finchum stated that the Newport City Hall and the Newport Police Department have been incapacitated by the flooding from the Pigeon River, but they hope to have City Hall back open sometime next week. He said some operations had been moved to the Newport Community Center for now. Finchum also related that the downtown roads remain closed while work is being done on them and that the state still has to assess the North Street Bridge before it can reopen.
As far as power outages, as of 6pm Saturday night less than 500 customers remained without power and crews are working hard to restore that power. Finchum also noted that those without water in the city and county will not have that service restored until the French Broad River recedes.
The Jefferson Cocke County Utility District gave an update noting that natural gas had been turned off to about 100 customers for safety reasons. They also said that numerous customers had watched as their propane tanks were carried away by flood waters.
As far as shelters, The Newport Community Center remains open and the Parrottsville Elementary school is still open as a shelter. They had a few empty cots available as of Saturday afternoon. If you are in need of bottled water, or would like to donate supplies, those can be dropped off in the parking lot behind Krystal’s on west Broadway. That donation site will be back open Sunday morning at 9am.
Also, Cocke County Emergency Management Agency director Joe Esawy says that a hotline has been set up for displaced family members. That number is 423-540-5551 and someone will be staffing that number on Sunday.
Cosby Hwy is now back open from I-40 north to Broadway. Hwy 25-70 is open from I-40 to Cosby Hwy. Interstate 40 is back open to Exit 440. TDOT is telling motorists heading to North Carolina to take a detour Of I-81 north to I-77 south. This is due to parts of I-26 being washed away in Unicoi County and a section of I-40 being destroyed by flood waters in Haywood County, NC.
A boil order remains in effect for all of Cocke County till further notice. Make sure to boil any water from your tap for three minutes before drinking, using it to make ice, brushing teeth or using the water for food preparation.