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At least 22 people have died, and dozens remain missing after severe storms dumped heavy rain across Tennessee over the weekend. Homes were destroyed, and roads were washed out as the storms dumped a record 17 inches of rain in some areas, prompting the National Weather Service office to issue a flash flood emergency.
The floodwaters rose quickly, leaving many residents trapped in their homes.
"There was water up to my knees at the front porch. And my brother-in-law had my daughter, one of my daughters in his arms, and he was waist-deep in water. My other daughter was climbing on my wife. And my dogs were swimming," Philip Albritton told NPR.
Hope Collier told NPR that she got swept away by the water and was dragged for nearly half a mile before she managed to escape. She said the terrifying experience was like riding "a roller coaster with no rules."
The floods washed away roadways and littered other streets with debris, making rescue efforts extremely difficult.
"Pray for all those people because they're definitely going to need it. Over the next day or two, we're just praying that they can find everybody," Dickson County Chief Deputy Teddy Murphy told WPIN. "I've never seen anything like it."