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000 

WGUS74 KMRX 141454

FFSMRX

TNZ017-018-040>047-141630-



FLOOD STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN

1100 AM EDT TUE AUG 14 2001



...THE RAINS HAVE ABATED AND THE SUN IS BACK...MOST FLOODING HAS 

CEASED...



MAJOR FLOODING OVER THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS HAS ALL BUT STOPPED. 

HOWEVER...THERE ARE STILL SEVERAL ROADS CLOSED AND SOME BRIDGES 

WASHED OUT IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES:



JOHNSON...CARTER...SULLIVAN...UNICOI...WASHINGTON TENNESSEE... 

GREENE...AND COCKE....



MASSIVE CLEANUP OPERATIONS ARE STILL ONGOING IN GREENE AND UNICOI 

COUNTIES.  OTHER CLEANUP OPERATIONS ARE ONGOING ALSO IN THE OTHER 

AREAS LISTED ABOVE. IN SHORT...A LARGE PART OF NORTHEAST 

TENNESSEE...ESPECIALLY IN THE MOUNTAINOUS AREAS...ARE STILL 

SUFFERING THE EFFECTS OF THE DEVASTATING FLOODING OF THE LAST FEW 

DAYS.



PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE INTO AREAS THAT ARE STILL FLOODING.  WATER 

LEVELS ARE DROPPING ON MANY SMALLER CREEKS AND DITCHES...BUT WATER 

ALMOST CERTAINLY STILL COVERS SOME SIDE ROADS.  SOME ROAD BEDS MAY 

BE UNDERMINED AS WELL...WITHOUT BEING VISIBLE.  BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN 

DRIVING IN AREAS THAT HAVE HAD FLOOD PROBLEMS RECENTLY.



SOME RESIDENTS OF THE ABOVE COUNTIES HAVE BEEN DISPLACED FROM THEIR 

HOMES AND BUSINESSES.  IF YOU ARE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO STILL HAVE 

YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS INTACT...PLEASE HELP LOCAL...STATE...AND 

FEDERAL AUTHORITIES BY STAYING OUT OF EVACUATED OR DAMAGED AREAS. IN SOME 

LOCATIONS...OFFICIAL RESTRICTIONS ON TRAVEL MAY APPLY.



SOME OF THE LARGE RIVERS MAY STILL BE OUT OF THEIR BANKS IN LOW LYING 

PLACES. JUST BECAUSE THE MEASUREMENT OF A RIVER AT A GAUGE IS BELOW 

FLOOD STAGE...REMEMBER...THAT MEASUREMENT IS FOR THAT SPOT ONLY. UP 

OR DOWN STREAM THE RIVER COULD STILL BE CAUSING PROBLEMS.  THE 

FOLLOWING RIVERS ARE LISTED AS BELOW FLOOD STAGE AND FALLING AT THESE 

GAUGES...BUT MAY STILL BE CAUSING NUISANCE FLOODING ELSEWHERE:



THE DOE RIVER AT ELIZABETHTON IN CARTER COUNTY.

THE NOLICHUCKY RIVER AT EMBREEVILLE IN WASHINGTON COUNTY...TENNESSEE.

THE PIGEON RIVER AT NEWPORT IN COCKE COUNTY.

THE FRENCH BROAD RIVER NEAR NEWPORT IN COCKE COUNTY.



IN ADDITION...NORTH INDIAN CREEK IN UNICOI COUNTY...LAUREL CREEK IN 

JOHNSON COUNTY...LIMESTONE CREEK IN WASHINGTON COUNTY 

TENNESSEE...PAINT CREEK IN GREENE COUNTY...AND LONG CREEK IN COCKE 

COUNTY...AND THEIR TRIBUTARIES...HAVE CAUSED SERIOUS FLOOD PROBLEMS 

WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS.



FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE MORE OUTSTANDING THREE DAY RAIN TOTALS 

FROM AUTOMATED RAIN GAUGES:



IRON MOUNTAIN...UNICOI COUNTY...4.52 INCHES...

SPIVEY GAP...UNICOI COUNTY...3.27 INCHES...

RIPSHIN LAKE...CARTER COUNTY...3.11 INCHES...

DENNIS COVE...CARTER COUNTY...2.26 INCHES...

HAMPTON...CARTER COUNTY...2.03 INCHES...

HEATH...JOHNSON COUNTY...1.95 INCHES...

TRADE...JOHNSON COUNTY...1.54 INCHES...



THESE TOTALS MAY NOT SEEM VERY LARGE...BUT REMEMBER THAT THE GROUND 

WAS ALREADY SATURATED FROM PREVIOUS RAINS...SO MOST OF THE RAIN IN 

THE ABOVE TOTALS ACTUALLY RAN OFF INTO STREAM CHANNELS...MAKING THE 

FLOODING EVEN WORSE.  ALSO...THERE WERE LOTS OF EXTREMELY HEAVY 

RAINFALL REPORTS FROM SPOTTERS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT OCCURRED BETWEEN 

THESE AUTOMATED GAUGES.



TO SUM UP...



SOME FLOODING MAY STILL BE OCCURRING. CLEANUP OPERATIONS AND 

INVESTIGATIONS ARE ONGOING. ROADS AND BRIDGES MAY BE DAMAGED THAT DO 

NOT APPEAR...AT FIRST GLANCE...TO BE DAMAGED.  BE VERY CAREFUL IN 

THE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS OF NORTHEAST TENNESSEE.



THIS WILL BE THE LAST FLOOD STATEMENT ON THIS LATEST ROUND OF 

FLOODING UNLESS NEW FLOODING OCCURS.



$$



BOYD

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