Johnson County community cleaning up damage from Hurricane Helene

JOHNSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – The aftermath of Hurricane Helene has left many devastated and picking up the pieces of what they lost due to regionwide flooding.

Myron Hughes with an Incident Management Team said that the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) confirmed Sunday one weather-related death in Johnson County.

Around 12 to 15 families were unable to leave their homes Monday because of blocked-off and broken roadways caused by flooding and trees. Jeff Wagner, Road Superintendent for Johnson County, said they hope to have most of that cleared for people to get out by the end of the night Monday.

"I'm going to say close to 300 miles of road has got damage," said Wagner. "It's going to take days to get these roads clear I've got five outside contractors of work and but it's going to take time."

Johnson County Courthouse to reopen Tuesday with limited services

As of Sept. 30, around 5,000 people were without power and some without water, as well. Lisa Kyles lives off of Highway 421 in Mountain City and said she feels blessed that her home was still intact after the storm.

"We knew it would be bad, we didn't know it would be anything like this," said Kyles.

Kyles told News Channel 11 that as for her neighbors, they are still working to clean up and access damaged areas of their property.

"Our neighbors here at the front they had about two inches of water, so just the surface," said Kyles. "They're hoping they can save things and get it dried out and be okay."

Parts of highways 421 and 91 are closed due to broken areas of the roadways and downed trees. Anyone in need of shelter or resources can stop by First Christian Church at 401 W Main Street in Mountain City.