John and Karen live in Bybee, TN located in Cocke County in the border of TN and NC.  The property sits about thirty feet above the Nolichucky River.  John had recently retired, and he and his wife were living in a camper on their property.  They had applied for a loan but were told they could not receive that until they had at least one year’s proof of income.  Therefore, they decided to move forward using their retirement savings.  $175,000.00 later the house was nearly closed-in so they would be able to continue work inside as winter was approaching.

On Thursday, September 26, 2024, after a long day of rain and working on the inside of their house John and Karen retired to bed around 11 PM.  Shortly there after they were awakened by the Cocke county police and fire departments.  They were told the dam located above their property was likely to break and they should grab what they could and go.  Wisely they obeyed the evacuation warning and they and their son left and went to a hotel.  However, they did leave their 20-year-old cat on he second floor with food and water.  Never imagining what was coming over the next days, weeks months and perhaps years.

When they were able to return, they found portions of their house two miles down the river. The cat? Yes, it was found alive up in the rafters!  John and Karen are staying in a hotel awaiting word from officials if they can salvage any of their home to rebuild.  TheUSDA is assessing the toxicity of the property for building. This heartbreaking story continues.

BEFORE

AFTER

These are the cats that survived the calico rode the house down the river and Lune came walking home 7 days later

UPDATE

They got power on today so they were over 5 weeks without electricity 

They are in the process of applying for all available assistance.  This is required before they can apply to the organizations that will do rebuild of the house.

Part of that problem is they have to show proof application has been made to every available source. BUT the committee set up to accomplish this isn’t yet organized.

There are reasons for all of it but for the victims of the disaster it is frustrating.

And the reality of the this lengthy process forces people to realize it will be a long time before life returns to anything resembling normal