Tennessee
Middle Tennessee first responders continue to provide aid to flood victims
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Several law enforcement and emergency response agencies in Middle Tennessee are continuing to help flood victims in East Tennessee following Hurricane Helene.
At least four weather-related deaths have been reported in that region, including one in Johnson County, one in Unicoi County, and two in Cocke County. In addition, more than 150 people are unaccounted for across multiple counties as of 3:50 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 29, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA).
Even though Middle Tennessee experienced localized flooding and downed trees, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) described the damage in East Tennessee as “vast.” As of midday Sunday, the damage statistics on state roadways are as follows:
By late Sunday afternoon, the department reported its crews had inspected more than 100 bridges in the previous 36 hours, with hundreds more to go.
WATCH: TDOT updates storm damage to East Tennessee roads after widespread flooding
According to the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office, the biggest requests so far have been for bottled water and ambulances. Lt. Chris Vines and three Sumner County detectives traveled to affected areas to hand out water.
The Dickson County Sheriff’s Office also collected bottled water, filling an entire semi-truck and two mid-sized trailers. Sheriff Tim Eads said his deputies plan to make stops in Cocke, Greene, and Unicoi counties starting Monday, Sept. 30.
“We have all seen the flood damage in East Tennessee from the hurricane. Our brothers and sisters from the affected areas have reached out for help and we plan on doing just that,” said Eads.
Helene death toll rises while supplies are rushed to North Carolina; Florida digs out
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis and another deputy have also rendered aid in the region. According to Davis, Unicoi County officials have asked for more cadaver dogs since they only have four on the ground, which can only work for two hours at a time without rest.
“As our people are being rescued, we will rejoice with them for their safety. As we locate our dead, we will mourn with their loved ones and show true love and compassion,” Glen White, mayor of Erwin, told reporters on Sunday.
Six Metro Nashville Police Department officers have also been deployed to East Tennessee, officials told News 2.
Middle TN agencies aid rescue missions in East TN after devastating floods
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has been involved in rescuing multiple people and animals from submerged buildings in the aftermath of the flooding, saying, “We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of love and support our officers have been receiving. Tennesseans have the best volunteer spirit and sense of community in the nation. We are proud to call Tennessee home.”
The agency urges community members not to deploy their own boats into the water since debris and swift water make navigation difficult.
As for the Middle Tennessee fire departments getting involved in relief efforts, Lawrence County Fire and Rescue and the Lawrenceburg Fire Department said their personnel have responded to a variety of incidents in East Tennessee Sunday, including the rescue of a wheelchair-ridden man who was in an area where roads had washed out, as well as search efforts that were impeded by heavy showers, eroded roads, and even a landslide that blocked a departure route. In addition, while trying to get teams across a heavily-eroded road, a volunteer firefighter’s 16-year-old son reportedly sustained deep lacerations to his left arm from a chainsaw accident, so he had to be brought to the nearest hospital.
Over in Maury County, the Maury County Fire Department said a team consisting of its personnel, along with personnel from Spring Hill, Columbia, Mt. Pleasant, and Lawrence County, left Sunday night for Unicoi County, where they plan to help with the foot search for more than 30 missing people.
The McMinnville Fire Department said it is taking donations to help those impacted by the storm damage in Helene. Community members are encouraged to drop off bottled water, packaged food items, personal care items, household cleaning items, tarps, flashlights, batteries, garbage bags, etc. at Station 1 or Station 2 by Friday, Oct. 4.
While it’s not an emergency response agency, Mt. Juliet 4 Hope is still compiling donations for the East TN Disaster Relief Fund. If you want to contribute, click here.
A fund with the East Tennessee Foundation has also been established to collect monetary donations for impacted counties, according to TEMA.
How to help victims of Hurricane Helene
TEMA advised civilians on Saturday, Sept. 28 to avoid visiting disaster areas until conditions become safer. The agency asked those who want to get involved with cleanup efforts to wait until local officials offer guidance. To read TEMA’s latest report outlining the status of power and utilities issues, missing persons totals, shelter locations, and responses from various state agencies, click here.
Meanwhile, the Tennessee National Guard said it is working with TEMA, providing 24-hour, ground and aerial rescue support to those in need.
On Friday, Sept. 27, officials said three UH-60L Blackhawk helicopters performed nearly 60 aerial rescues of Tennesseans trapped by floodwaters, including hospital staff and patients at Unicoi County Hospital.
The next day, seven Blackhawk helicopters from Knoxville and Nashville’s Berry Field continued rescue missions in East Tennessee. According to the Tennessee National Guard, not only did they save nearly 15 citizens, but they also performed critical missions like dam and bridge assessments, damaged area surveys, and transporting critical supplies. They are also working with Nashville Fire Department as part of Tennessee’s Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team to help those in need. These aviators continued rescue and relief operations throughout the affected areas on Sunday.
In addition, members of Smyrna’s 45th Civil Support Team — who are certified swift water rescue technicians — deployed to East Tennessee to help with rescue operations, authorities said.
“These missions are all being coordinated through the Tennessee Military Department’s Joint Emergency Operations Center…Today, they deployed a debris removal team, comprised of more than 50 engineering specialists from Trenton’s 230th Engineer Battalion and Knoxville’s 134th Air Refueling Wing, to East Tennessee to assist restoring critical infrastructure,” the Tennessee National Guard said in a statement Sunday afternoon. “The Tennessee National Guard is continuing rescue and relief efforts and will continue as long as needed. If someone needs assistance, please contact your local authorities.”
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The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has opened a hotline to report those who may be missing in the aftermath of the floods. Callers should be prepared to share as much information in their report as possible, including names, phone numbers, vehicle identification and last known location. However, callers are asked to refrain from inquiring about personal properties that may have gone missing in the area. To make a missing person report, call 1-800-TBI-FIND.
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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Tennessee baseball received a commitment from UC Irvine pitcher Ricky Ojeda on June 19.
Ojeda, who is eligible for the MLB draft in July, announced his decision on social media. He visited Tennessee on June 15-16.
The lefthanded Ojeda had a strong 2026 season primarily as a reliever, posting a 3.77 ERA with 62 strikeouts and 20 walks in 62 innings. In 2025, he became the first reliever to be named Big West Pitcher of the Year after going 13-1 with a 3.55 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 66 innings, which also earned him a third-team all-American nod from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Perfect Game.
Whether Ojeda makes it to Tennessee remains an open question. Perfect Game ranked him as the No. 179 prospect for the draft. That would place him in the sixth round.
Should Ojeda join the staff, however, he would instantly become one of the team’s top options out of a bullpen that struggled immensely in 2026. The pitching staff is also under new leadership under pitching coach Austin Knight, who was hired from ECU.
Ojeda is the fourth player to announce they will transfer to Tennessee this offseason, joining two-way Mercer transfer Braydon Kersey, Northwestern State pitcher Brody Trosclair and Air Force infielder Wyatt Hanoian.
Who’s leaving Tennessee baseball
- UTL Jay Abernathy (Oklahoma)
- RHP Nic Abraham
- INF Ariel Antigua (Arizona)
- INF Finley Bates
- RHP Ari Bethea
- OF Hutson Chance
- RHP Sawyer Deering (San Diego State)
- OF Nate Eisfelder
- 1B Evan Hankins (Virginia Tech)
- UTL Hunter High
- RHP Brayden Krenzel (Arkansas)
- INF Manny Marin
- INF Ethan Moore (Missouri)
- UTL Chris Newstrom
- LHP Taylor Tracey
- C Cash Williams (West Virginia)
Who’s joining Tennessee baseball
- RHP/DH Braydon Kersey
- LHP Brody Trosclair
- INF Wyatt Hanoian
- LHP Ricky Ojeda
Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: emmett.siegel@knoxnews.com; X: @EmmettSiegel_
JACKSON, Tenn. (WBBJ) – An exciting day of sporting clays in West Tennessee is doubling as a major fight against hunger.
Today’s “Shooting Hunger” event took place at the Carroll County Shooting Sports Park in Huntingdon. It’s a partnership between Tennessee Farm Bureau, Tennessee Farmers Co-Op, Farm Credit Mid-America and Rural First.
Since 2015, Shooting Hunger has helped provide more than three million meals to Tennesseans with money going to food banks, backpack programs, and local hunger relief. A $500 scholarship will also go to the top youth shooter in each flight.
“We’re joining together to raise money for school backpacks to feed hungry kids. We do these, we actually do three of these across the state of Tennessee so at the end of the day we take, we take all the money we put it into a pile and when we divide equally amongst all 95 counties across the state of Tennessee,“ said Bryan Wright, executive vice president for the Tennessee Farm Bureau.
Organizers say events like this matter because one in six children in Tennessee struggle with hunger.
Copyright 2026 WBBJ. All rights reserved.
Tennessee director of track and field Duane Ross gauged the hunger of the men’s 4×100-meter relay team to pull off the upset.
“They said, ‘Coach, we’re going to win,’ ” Ross said. “When they bring you that much confidence, you can grab your popcorn and enjoy the meet.”
No popcorn was consumed, but the appetite was there from the start.
Traunard Folson, Davonte Howell, T’Mars McCallum and Elijah Clark finished in a school record time of 37.98 seconds at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 12 in Eugene, Oregon. It was the the program’s first national title in the 4×100 since 1983 and the fourth-fastest in NCAA history.
Four other relay teams never crossed the line. Auburn, the two-time defending champion, had run an NCAA-record 37.75 in the semifinal, but had a botched handoff on the last exchange. Arkansas, the reigning SEC champion, also dropped its baton, along with Oregon and Houston.
McCallum said staying clean through a race of chaos starts with a focus on winning, even in practice.
“In the moment we can’t really worry about anything else, just what we can control,” McCallum said on June 18. “We came to practice every time with the idea of, ‘OK, we’ve got to make sure this is fixed, because we know if we run that time, we can win.’ “
It was the final event of McCallum’s college career. It didn’t fully hit until the long flight home to Knoxville.
“I was like, we really did it,” he said. “Now we have a school record, the first team to ever go under 38 seconds here.”
Whether belief had anything to do with what went wrong in those four other lanes isn’t something Tennessee’s runners can answer. It’s exactly what they point to for why theirs didn’t.
Clark, a freshman who ran the anchor leg, said winning was just a matter of starting the race.
“We knew we had it the whole time,” he said. “No matter who did what, what happened, we knew what the outcome would come to.”
Ross said the victory wasn’t a surprise inside the program either.
“I wouldn’t say unsung,” Ross said. “I’ve watched this team all year long, and we were expecting to come out of there with the championship. It was a tight competition down to the last event.”
Tennessee finished third in the men’s team standings with 46 points, its best total since 2002.
Howell, a junior who ran the second leg, said the belief behind the relay team’s confidence was built long before the race.
“Three of the four of us already ran under 10 seconds,” he said. “Last year we all trained together during the summer, all lived together. We already had the bond, and adding the freshman on anchor was just a cherry on top. He figured it out at SECs, ran a 10.1, season’s best, and we trusted him to bring it home.”
Clark said the title is already part of something bigger to him.
“The goal is to always make history,” said Clark, who was hired by Tennessee four years ago after a successful run at North Carolina A&T. “It’s been one of my dreams. To be able to be on the wall, especially at a school like this, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
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