Recovering journalist and Nashville-area public policy expert Clint Brewer said the response from Tennesseans to help residents of East Tennessee who Hurricane Helene impacted is a testament to the Volunteer spirit.
On September 26 and September 27, flash flooding from Hurricane Helene devastated buildings and roads in East Tennessee, which has since left eight dead, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.
Nearly one week since the hurricane hit Tennessee, thousands of residents in areas devastated by the storm remain without running water and electricity.
In addition, hundreds of individuals remain unaccounted for, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Brewer said the response from local and state leaders, first responders, and volunteers has been “fantastic,” noting how Tennesseans have a track record of helping one another in times of need.
“I can remember in Nashville and in the suburbs, the Super Tuesday tornadoes right before COVID hit in 2020. There was a huge response. I live in Wilson County and Mount Juliet was devastated. The help that people there got was just overwhelming. I remember helping some organizations get the word out about cleanup days here in North Nashville, and once we got the word out, the turnout was fantastic,” Brewer explained on Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“People here always rush to help. They really do,” Brewer added.
Brewer said he was especially pleased to see the Metro Nashville Fire Department travel to East Tennessee to help with rescuing residents in the flood waters.
“The Metro Nashville Fire Department has gone to East Tennessee to do what I think is called a hoist rescue, which is to get out in a boat in very dangerous water and get people up onto a hoist to get them out of there by helicopter,” Brewer said.
“It’s terrific to see the Metro Government here sending experts and first responders over to help…It’s great to see our largest city, Nashville, with all of the resources it has and the expertise it has and its first responder base who has dealt with a historic flood itself not that long ago. So this city has a great deal of expertise in this regard,” Brewer added.
In regards to the gravity of the damage, Brewer said he doesn’t believe the rest of the state understands the “extent” of the devastation which has taken place in East Tennessee.
“You have people trapped in high points of mountain communities who are stranded…There are at least a hundred people unaccounted for and more, and that list is growing. Communication systems are down. I’m not sure that people in the rest of the state really understand the extent to which this devastation has taken place. There are entire cities that are just gone, literally gone,” Brewer said.
Watch the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
