Thousands of acres of East Tennessee farmland have been devastated by flood waters that rushed through the region as Tropical Storm Helene moved through, but state officials say they “don’t have a lot of money” to help.
In some cases, the soil was entirely washed away, leaving nothing but bedrock.
John Hilemon II is the third generation of his family to farm a tract of land on the banks of the Nolichucky River near the town of Erwin, in Unicoi County. He keeps cattle, and sells hay from his pasture to a nearby horse ranch.
When Tropical Storm Helene caused waters to surge by 35 feet along the river, he and his family lost 650 acres of land, 1,000 bales of hay, millions of dollars worth of equipment, and their livelihood in an instant. The land has been reduced to nothing but sand and silt, which can no longer produce grass for grazing or hay for rolling. His barns have been shredded to pieces, and some of his equipment was picked up and carried miles downstream by the flood.
“In four hours, I literally lost everything,” Hilemon said. “I can sit here and tell you about the hay and the hay equipment … but how can I ever put you a price on the land? Because how can I ever rebuild that?”