OAN Staff Abril Elfi
11:34 AM – Wednesday, August 13, 2025
At least three people have died, including a child, after a flash flood hit Tennessee prompting a state of emergency.
According to the Hamilton County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, a family of two adults and one child was killed when a tree fell on their car in East Ridge, near Chattanooga, on Wednesday morning due to the storms.
Another individual remains missing after first responders witnessed him being swept away by floodwaters. Emergency crews are currently looking for him and are unsure if he was able to swim out.
The National Weather Service (NWS) Office in Morristown reported that Chattanooga Airport received 6.42 inches of rain on Tuesday, making it the second wettest day in the city’s history since it began tracking rainfall in 1879.
Rescuers spent hours on Tuesday evening pulling citizens from flooded houses and vehicles in Hamilton County, Tennessee, which encompasses Chattanooga, according to the local fire department.
“Firefighters spent hours checking sunken cars for any trapped people. This was a large coordinated response effort by city, county and state agencies as flash flooding caused dangerous situations in Chattanooga,” the fire department stated.
“The occupants of three houses were not able to leave their homes due to rising flood waters and swift-water rescue personnel helped assist them into inflatable boats to safety,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
In one incident, firefighters assisted six individuals in exiting a van as water rose from a nearby overflowing creek, nearly sweeping the van away, according to the Chattanooga Fire Department.
Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp (R-Tenn.) has declared a local state of emergency.
“After consulting with the Hamilton County Director of Emergency Management, I have declared a Local State of Emergency as first responders across Hamilton County respond to flash flooding,” Wamp said in a statement. “We have been in communication with both TEMA and the Governor’s Office and will continue to assess damage overnight and into the morning. We ask the public to please exercise extreme caution.”
As of Wednesday, flash flood warnings remained in effect for much of Tennessee, including Knoxville.
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