COCKE COUNTY, TN ( Story courtesy of WVLT) – This week is an important time for Cocke County. Folks there are marking the one year anniversary of Hurricane Helene.
Saturday marks one year since the storm struck East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.
For some, it’s hard to believe it’s already been a year. It still feels fresh for some people, and for others, it feels like it was years ago.
“What came was so devastating. It impacted so many people, and there are some people who are sitting in this room who are still impacted,” said Rich Lloyd, the pastor at First Baptist Newport.
Hurricane Helene has left it’s mark on Cocke County.
“It was probably one of the worst times in the history of Cocke County,” said Rev. Tim Grooms at Riverview Church.
With the one year anniversary approaching, First Baptist Church in Newport hosted a worship service on Tuesday to grieve the loss from the floods but also highlight the recovery process.
“It was my joy to watch so many different entities within our community that literally rose up,” Pastor Lloyd said. “There was no planning how to help with flooding. We just had to get after this and so many people did that very thing, just got after it.”
Rev. Grooms said his church was flooded by seven feet of water. Their doors were closed for more than six months.
“Riverview Baptist Church was never flooded. It was just the building,” Grooms said. “We kept on worshiping god week after week.”
Bread Basket Director Jamee Morrow said the floods also brought people together.
“Victims who lived in Del Rio for years, our paths never crossed, and they are now my dear friends,” Morrow said. “People who I would have never have met, not for the flood.”
Empower Cocke County Founder Doctor Candi Overholt said what sped the recovery process was everyone in the community working together.
“So the churches, we would just call and say, ‘hey, what do you need’,” Overholt said. “When volunteers showed up, we called and we sent them and said, ‘okay, what do you have? You have any machinery? Ok, we’ll stand on this road.’”
There’s other events planned this week as the one year anniversary approaches.
Though two lives were tragically lost, they will honor the bravery of first responders whose actions saved hundreds more. They will also recognize the progress the community has made since the floods and point to the bright future that is in store for us all.
At 5 p.m. on Friday, Shine On! will take place in downtown Newport and feature live music at the Riverwalk, venders and artists along McSween Avenue. There will also be an unveiling of a special mural and other surprises throughout the evening.
At 7 p.m., the LTRG Fundraiser Dinner will be held along the river. It will be a gourmet five-course meal crafted by Simpl Café, Neighborhood Beer House, Snowbird Mountain Coffee Company and Sweet Southern Charm – all Downtown Newport businesses that were impacted by Hurricane Helene but have returned to serve the community with some of the most refreshing drinks and delicious local cuisine that makes Newport so special. Proceeds will be used to continue rebuilding affected homes across Cocke County. Tickets are limited and available through the Newport Welcome Center.
At 4 p.m. on Saturday, Roots and Reins: Riding Forward will be held at the Cocke County Fairgrounds and will feature an emergency responders rally, full rodeo, live music performances, food, kids’ events, food, and more all for free to the public.
TVA also reflecting on Helene:
It’s been nearly been one year since Hurricane Helene brought heavy downpours to East Tennessee. Now, the Tennessee Valley Authority is recounting the cleanup efforts that took place on Douglas Lake following the massive flooding.
On Wednesday, TVA highlighted all the debris that needed to be cleaned out of Douglas Lake. Crews of around 100 people, who were working seven days a week from November 2024 to August 2025, removed over 177,000 cubic yards of material, covering nearly 400 miles of shoreline.
“The entire process was important to not only the community, but also TVA in terms of preventing that material from getting into our dam downstream, and then ultimately allowing for the commerce of the lake to continue on and be revived,” said Scott Turnbow, vice president of TVA’s civil projects department.
Crews also worked on barges, removing wood and debris, then taking it to specific areas to burn it. Turnbow says the cleanup process was crucial to not only keep the debris from floating downstream, but also getting people back on the lake.
“The entire process basically was working from one property to the next property all the way around the entire lake,” said Turnbow. “It took us nine months, but I’ll be honest with you, within just a couple of months of us being active, we were able to get the lake cleaned up to a point where commerce could happen again on the lake.”
Turnbow adds that things were starting to go back to normal on the lake by late February and early March, and people were beginning to notice.
“We reached out to the landowners early and we let them know exactly where we were going to be working time from one day to the next,” said Turnbow. “We told them what we were going to do, and then we did what we said we were going to do, and they were, I believe, surprised and happy.”
“This was one of the biggest projects we at TVA have ever undertaken from a disaster relief,” said Turnbow. “It was unchartered territory for us, but we do believe that we came through in a strong way and really showed the value of both federal, state and local government working together with the community to really bring a lot of value.”
The work was also praised by the Jefferson County Tourism Department who says they’ve seen a boost in tourism since the the lake reopened.
“Tourism definitely bounced back,” said Lee Rose Koza with the Jefferson County Tourism Department. “People come and vacation here from all across, really the world and I think people were very eager and ready to get back on Douglas Lake.”
Hurricane Helene flooding recovery in Cocke County, photo courtesy of WVLT
