TVA's system of dams along the Tennessee River and its tributaries has been tested by record flooding from Hurricane Helene, which drenched Western North Carolina and East Tennessee as a tropical storm , washing out interstate lanes and trapping residents as small streams in the Great Smoky Mountains suddenly became raging rivers.

Multiple counties were impacted with road closures including Cocke, Greene, Washington, Unicoi, Carter and Johnson Counties.

National Guard crews are working with local authorities and national disaster relief nonprofits in northeast Tennessee to coordinate basic services.