GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WATE) – Emergency agencies in Sevier County evacuated over 400 people from a Gatlinburg campground Tuesday evening after heavy rains triggered flash flooding.
Assistant County Mayor Perrin Anderson said that more than 400 people were evacuated from the Greenbrier Campground in Gatlinburg after roughly 8.5 inches of rain fell between 8 and 10 p.m.
Debris and vehicles from the campground were washed downstream in the Middle Prong of the Little Pigeon River from the Campground.
Some water rescue missions were also conducted in the area, according to county dispatch. The Sevier County Emergency Management Agency said that the Grassy Branch Road over the Little Pigeon River is closed.
Emergency response and county personnel had set up a temporary evacuation shelter overnight at Pittman Center Elementary School for anyone currently displaced due to the flash flooding on the middle prong of the Little Pigeon River. Nearly 70 people took shelter at Pittman Center Elementary Schools during the flooding.
Emergency personnel are conducting damage assessments in the area in the Pittman Center area Wednesday morning. There are no reports of deaths, injuries, or missing people, Anderson said.
A flash flood warning was issued for Sevier and Cocke Counties until 3:15 a.m. Wednesday following a line of storms going over the area.
Call 865-453-3200 to report a vehicle in the river.
