In a dramatic situation, more than 50 people ended up trapped on the roof of a Tennessee hospital. Flood waters from Hurricane Helene surrounded them.
Hospital staff and patients were at Unicoi County Hospital when flood waters began to surround and overtake the building on September 27. The people were forced to flee to the roof of the building to avoid the waters. Hurricane Helene caused devastation in the area.
Unfortunately for the people, they ended up trapped on the roof until help could arrive. Rescuing the group ended up being a challenge. The Nolichucky River had flooded causing all of the surrounding area to be impossible to travel. In fact, flood waters had swept away many police cruisers and ambulances in the area.
Rescue teams had to figure out a way to the staff. Fortunately, a SWAT team that had been training at the hospital managed to save medications from the building. Ballad Health reported that rescue boats tried to reach the stranded people. But conditions proved less than ideal.
Helene Floods Hospital
"Unfortunately, the water around the hospital, which had also begun intruding inside the hospital, became extremely dangerous and impassable and prevented the boats from safely being able to evacuate the hospital," Ballad stated in the release. "Due to high winds, no helicopters could safely fly in an effort to help evacuate the hospital."
Authorities banned together to rescue the trapped people by Helene. Aviation units came from Virginia to assist in the rescue attempt. Fortunately, by that afternoon, they managed to rescue those on the roofs. They the transferred patients to a nearby hospital for medical care.
Ballad Health CEO Alan Levine said the building was beyond repair. So it will need to be rebuilt following the devastation caused by Helene.
"There's no way the building's gonna survive this," he said, per WJHL. "We'll take a look at it once the water goes down, but it's a shame; it's a brand-new hospital. But you know what? It's just a building. We can figure that out. I'm just thankful to God and everybody that our people are safe."
