Three die as heavy rain, flash floods hit southern Tennessee

A family of two adults and one child died Wednesday morning when a tree fell on their vehicle following severe weather and heavy rain, according to the Chattanooga Fire Department in southern Tennessee. Emergency crews continued searching Wednesday for another missing man there. Earlier Tuesday night, first responders conducted swift water rescues in surrounding Hamilton County. Flash flood warnings remained in effect Wednesday in parts of eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia, western North Carolina, and southwestern Virginia through Wednesday afternoon.

Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp declared a local state of emergency. More than six inches of rain fell on Chattanooga Tuesday, marking the city’s second wettest day in recorded history, according to the National Weather Service.

Is there flooding anywhere else in the country? Officials in Juneau, Alaska, on Tuesday warned residents that the Mendenhall Lake and River were expected to flood. A nearby glacial lake experienced an outburst that sent a torrent of water gushing from the glacier toward the state capital for the third year in a row. On Wednesday, the river already surged above the previous record high level of 15.99 feet and hit 16.65 feet, according to the weather service. Officials warned residents in the flood plain to evacuate until floodwaters receded.

Dig deeper: Read Travis Kircher’s report about Tropical Storm Erin that could be the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025.