Massive Flooding and Dam Spills on the Tennessee River | Hurricane Helene Aftermath Vlog

[@turdferguson5300]

I'm 60 years old, lived in SE Tn. all my life and I've never seen anything like this. I live two dams south on Chickamauga Lake. TVA lowered the water 3 feet in preparation for this storm. It moved quickly over this area and the water only rose 2 feet. It didn't come close to covering my boat dock. I'm sure the main river was flowing at the same rate as the northern dams. It's hard for me to imagine that many cubic feet of water per second. Thank you for showing this disaster. We should take note of all the foreign aid we're getting and return the favor the next time they need help. It's only fair !

[@bennetts-revenge_2]

Ya, that means no help at all from them but they expect our help

[@shawnagrewe8331]

This dude is doing a really great job at filming this whole video! Thank you! I feel like Tennessee is one state that almost seemingly built everything around possible natural disasters! Maybe it's just me, but thank God for hillbillies! 😊

[@Capt_Billy]

That is pretty much true. The dam system was created not only to give the south east power but its also flood control. What happened upriver was something nobody could really predict and its more of mountain streams than rivers up there. The hurricane dropping 30 inches of rain overnight would flood anywhere it hits (1000 year flood). No control where all that water landed but down here where it drains into the French Broad and Tennessee river TVA has good control.

[@traehaggard]

The Tennessee Valley Authority built the dam systems to control the flooding. The Tennessee River runs from Knoxville south through Chattanooga and into Alabama then turns north to Kentucky. My father who was born in 1932 shows up on a historical list of families that were relocated because of the reservoirs being created and the flooding of farmland when he was just a little boy. When Nickajack Dam was created in the 60s it flooded more farmland to include cemeteries. My great grandfather used to talk about the great flood of 1900 that wiped everyone out.

[@LeighMichelle]

​@@Capt_Billy Thanks for showing this Where is Lure Dam at higher up from this or lower Prayers for all ❤🙏✝️ Just seen a YT channel saying they have poison the water up where they got hit bad 😭😭

[@wythetrumpet6419]

I appreciate your video. I know that area as I went to UT in Knoxville. The People of Tennessee and North Carolina are wonderful. This is such a tragic event. Many Churches are going into the damaged areas to help. I would encourage those who can to help these people as any size of donation is appreciated. Continue praying for these folks. Thank You.

[@DraggonCanoe]

Well that WAS your secret fishing spot, lol. That was a good report. Not many people covering the dams and streams down stream. Thank you for covering what no body else has!!

[@Capt_Billy]

Thank you for watching!

[@DraggonCanoe]

@@Capt_Billy Thank you for the work.

[@monmixer]

So very sad for sure. All I can do is pray for everyone down there. If I was a lot younger I could be a lot of help but unfortunately I'm pretty old.

[@waterlevelroute]

Wow, I'm in Asheville and was curious where it all went. Looks like the TVA controls everything pretty well.

[@jeremylivingston9074]

I am from Greeneville. The Nolichucky River meets the French Broad to form Douglas. The Waterville Dam is on the Pigeon river which feeds the French Broad. Our dam held here despite being told that failure was iminate. We lost a lot of bridges though.

[@CDcooper3876]

I’m down in New Orleans where all this will eventually end up . The Mississippi has been very low for a while so I doubt this floodwater will even be noticeable. This breaks my heart seeing such destruction in such a beautiful place

[@Capt_Billy]

Yeah they lowered the lakes down river from this to help with the displacement of water. It shouldn't impact you at all. The only wild thing is the lingering mud. Which I talk about this Tuesday.

[@CDcooper3876]

@@Capt_Billy very true the lower Mississippi has been insanely low in fact the Helene floodwaters will actually help us push back the salt wedge which is trying again to creep back up the river from the Gulf . Was hoping to see some good rain in the Tennessee/Ohio Vally just not That Much rain in one place .

[@donnaleffler-lh6gl]

Sending prayers and love to you all!

[@davidgarcia9808]

Amazing how much water can come in such a short time. Prays for all of you guys back there.

[@KennethBurnett-f6y]

Great job 👍 it was a great video

[@Capt_Billy]

Thanks 👍

[@FirstCatch]

Incredible images. Prayers and recovery.. Thumbs up video.

[@Capt_Billy]

Thanks! I did what I could at the time.

[@campagnollo]

I would be impressed if you could see Waterville Dam. It’s already a difficult dam to access on a sunny day.

[@theholstonangler]

It's the Nolichucky river and French broad that forms Douglas. Keep up the good videos!

[@cathiwim]

You taught me something new, thanks!

[@monmixer]

Water is crazy, I live close to the Ohio river up here in south east Ohio. WE get flooded here from the which is south of us but it's a north flowing river. It's crazy, we have been floooded here with very little rain here because the the Monongahalia and Alegheny come together in Pittsburgh at point state park to form the Ohio

[@tedm4932]

Great coverage !!! Thank you for doing this video !!! 👍

[@Capt_Billy]

You are welcome! I may have more coming. My buddy Ty is giving me all his photos and videos to use if he gets time to do so. He has some pictures of the Waterville dam which for whatever reason are hard to come by.

[@jamesprentice5503]

Thanks for the look at what people are facing and like most they are fixing most things ,neighbors helping! I look forward to the catfishing videos again maybe next year!

[@Capt_Billy]

...or tomorrow! I take a buddy out in the good current (and shallow water) and catch a few nice cats!

[@cathiwim]

We went to Douglas the day after- you would not BELIEVE how many people went there to see all 11 gates open at the same time! It was a Zoo! All the marinas and campgrounds were closed. It’s the first time all gates have been open since 1960. I have the same video.

[@mikeinch3690]

I live in Asheville NC. It's wild to see where all that water ended up. Thanks for the vid. Donate to the churches they help more.

[@ArleneAdkinsZell]

I live by the Ft Loudon Dam, there was flooding by the creeks and near the river, it is finally receding from the flooded areas, I can't imagine what it is like in Ashville. Praying for all that lost family.

[@CrystalMcCullough-rc1oc]

It is my understanding that TVA opened all the flood gates on all the dams in eastern TN and even some in Middle TN.

[@Capt_Billy]

The TVA app says they ALL are spilling. I just checked the first 6 dams on the main Tennessee River and every single one is spilling.

[@Jknot]

Which churches do you recommend please, as I am inclined to donate to those groups that truly help and are local, and I feel far more confident in the locals and community churches than in any government agency!

[@Capt_Billy]

@@Jknot Any of the local ones in the impacted area. I would assume they all are helping. I personally don't know of any specific ones.

[@vatodad]

I applaud you for approaching this responsibly and accurately. It would be nice if the so-called professional journalists on t vhad been as responsible rather than going for sensationalism and deceptive terminology. (E.g., "Catastrophe", "imminent danger" and other such nonsense.) Great work!

[@Donnach]

Thank you for this video!

[@goodcitizen64]

Hope yall are all safe! Prayer's for all those impacted by the hurricane and related storms! It's amazing how American citizens are coming together to help one another! However, the government is actively deterring citizens helping out. Meanwhile, the government isn't doing much at all! Stay safe and strong my fellow patriots and 2A everyday and everywhere and pray continuously! God bless y'all

[@jackkeeble9272]

Unreal brother thanks for sharing

[@Capt_Billy]

Thanks for watching

[@moGear6253]

DO NOT TRY TO get in that water with out the rescue team.. thats to dangerous .. thank you for your video.. this is truly heart braking...

[@cathiwim]

We are helping through the Tennessee Baptist Relief fund. We are also brining donations to the church.

[@James-oj6ck]

Thanks for the update. Great video.

[@vgee3926]

Best wishes from the west coast🙏

[@ValerieDee123]

Very informative, and helpful video.

[@tedm4932]

Yea, those jet boats are nice ! Seen many videos on Cleetus McFarland platform riding the jet boats. I just subscribed !

[@Capt_Billy]

Thanks 👍

[@davidheine2782]

Update, now tellico dam is releasing water, like I have never seen. Watts bar is flowing !

[@shanester8712]

A local Guy ( an ER nurseand advit fisherman/hunter) was using his jet boat to help rescue a stranger in the nolichucky and they finally found his body 4 days later.

[@Turk_2023]

The guy with the jetboats body or the stranger?

[@AliciaSmith-mz1cx]

Texas needs water

[@Capt_Billy]

We were in a drought before this hit. We got a little too much rain.

[@garycousino]

Have floated and fished from Barnard to Wolf Creek, we would camp halfway down. Didnt eat anything out of the FB then. Have banged down Big Laurel creek and did eat the fish from it

[@mikeramsey9747]

Ft. Laudoun is releasing 52,000 cubic feet of water per second, Douglas is releasing 24,000 cubic feet per second, Guntersville is releasing 79,000 cubic feet per second. Dams down river are releasing similar amounts but note this is by no means the highest release rates recorded.

[@gordonrowe8091]

Nickajack, which spills into guntersville, got to +135,000 cfps last week. And chickamauga a similar amount.

[@teresaadams825]

Thanks for the update. Is there any way you could provide visual maps of the flow of rivers devastation from Lake Lure NC dam to Damascus VA?

[@Capt_Billy]

I don’t know that area sorry. I’m in Tennessee and getting over the mountains is very difficult right now.

[@teresaadams825]

@@Capt_Billy sorry u misunderstood, boots on the ground was no way implied

[@RachelWood-u5u]

Thank U for doing this! Im from Chattanooga, TN. Im very familiar with the Chickamauga Dam, Ive driven over 10,000x in my life. 2 Crazy questions. 1 is some of the debris going to actually flow down to this area? Its not like theres a filter catchin the debris, but the dams themselves? Are the Fish carried down stream as well? 2- The 1st dam U showed had a 4 lane hwy going over the river, down from the dam. In Chattanooga theres 4 main bridges that cross the TN river, now Im just thinkin out loud here, Yes, Bridges are constructed to withstand LOTS of water rushing by, the closer theyre built to the dams, looks like the bigger & deeper the pilons are dug? Right? (I have NO idea, im not an engineer, Im just posing questions here) However; again just thinking out loud here, isnt there some sort of river bed washing away happening, around these bridges supports & footers, pilons, whatever it is they're called? This IS the most water, in their history, ANY of these TVA dams & bridges have ever seen, rushing through & around them. Yes, from all the way up there to all the way down here. Literally ever. Is that a possibility of washing away of the river bed base, from around these structures? I mean I know logically speaking, as long as the bridges are still there, people further down stream may see them as ok. And they may be, I just have to wonder, even tho the waters wasnt so high here, theres movement below the waters & that has me questioning whats happening below the surface.

[@Capt_Billy]

1. It is possible. Mostly wood but its possible other stuff could. 2. That was Fort Loudon dam. The first dam on the Tennessee River. The road used to be on the dam. Most of the big bridges are built into the base rock under the river beds.

[@ConnieStanney]

I will look into the dance above it

[@ConnieStanney]

It looks to me like the dance release too much water

[@myd0gr3x]

sooooo, Douglas Lake is now the place to go fishing 👍

[@Capt_Billy]

I don’t think it’s safe enough. Not only you have so much wood it’s filling up half the lake, at the upper end you have actual homes, cars, buses, and buildings piled up.

[@myd0gr3x]

@@Capt_Billy I was just thinking that the fish all got washed out the rivers and into the lake...

[@Capt_Billy]

Including the state record I was chasing...!

[@blackbuttecruizr]

Drove by Ft. Loudon dam yesterday, only 3 gates open now.

[@Capt_Billy]

Is it still super muddy? I have a short today showing a few gates open and it was REALLY muddy.

[@blackbuttecruizr]

@@Capt_Billy VERY muddy, strangely the mud is all concentrated around the dam itself. I was on the lake with friends on Saturday and the rest of it is still remarkably clean.

[@Capt_Billy]

Up river in the Concord area was VERY muddy with a ton of debris in the water when I went fishing there last week. Eventually all of this will be flushed out. My videos of fishing in this will be a little behind (next weeks is the concord video, this week is watts bar before that). I have to schedule them out due to work and guide trips.

[@Larryw-o2k]

thanks lived at the head of the tellico river for awhile moved down river then outa state got friends up there can anybody tell me if they are ok or not there area is not to prone to flooding its to steep except down around the state line apprecieat any info live in east ky now

[@Capt_Billy]

I am not sure. Most of the damage was in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, starting from Georgia up to that area.

[@ThomasRoberts-q1k]

I live on wheeler lake on the tenn river and tva has lowered the level here too

[@Capt_Billy]

That is really far down river!

[@lisao9486]

Further downstream at Watts Bar Dam/Lake the water levels have been very high with TVA letting the water downstream

[@Capt_Billy]

Yep, the docks at Kingston City Park were underwater last time I launched there. Video this Thursday!

[@ConnieStanney]

Check out the dams in the area

[@kentondickerson]

The Episcopal Dioceses of both East Tennessee and Western North Carolina are accepting donations for flood relief.

[@zannemairiwoods528]

Where are you in Tenn ?

[@Capt_Billy]

Knoxville area

[@michaelgagne1911]

I really liked your video mike iron river m.i.

[@Capt_Billy]

Thanks

[@Jdalio5]

You could fill the cowboys stadium 51,000 times with the rain that fell from this storm...40 trillion gallons. Edit: 160 billion tons of water in 1 day

[@Capt_Billy]

It was an incredibly amount of water! I remember seeing the forecast for 30 inches of rain. 1000 year flood for sure!

[@michaelball869]

freshwater tsunami

[@Jknot]

Which churches?!?

[@Capt_Billy]

Any of the local ones in the impacted area. I would assume they all are helping. I personally don't know of any specific ones.

[@stevendaniel8126]

All this water flows into the Mississippi.....

[@Capt_Billy]

...and into the Gulf where it came from!

[@MarkVanTasell]

IT IS NOT ABOUT MONEY HELP THOSE WHO CANNOT(YALL KNOW BE A GOOD CHRISTIAN)TY FOR VID

[@garycousino]

Dont recommend eating any fish out of there for years to come

[@kelvinnunnally2545]

Why?

[@Capt_Billy]

All the stuff that went into the water from the storm. Which is just about everything imaginable.

[@stopukmarriagefraud4956]

The water is seriously polluted.

[@davesbainrps6909]

Who was responsible for all this damage

[@Capt_Billy]

The remnants of hurricane Helene. Nothing can handle 30 inches of rain dropped in less than 24 hours. Someone commented it was 40 trillion gallons of water.

[@hiknfo]

@@Capt_Billysomeone said that it was still a hurricane and not remnants when it got there. Is that true?

[@Capt_Billy]

Tropical storm would be what it was by that time.

[@ConnieStanney]

Maybe the people running the dams above you

[@Edward-kk4dl]

❤❤❤ Ohio has food. Harvest. Is in ❤❤❤ theeangle

[@tonyborzumato8510]

Nice video. We went to Douglas and Cherokee dams just after Helene came through, and it was impressive that dams built in the 1930's & 40's are still functioning so well. One suggestion though... try to stop flailing your arms all around... very distracting. LOL.

[@Capt_Billy]

I get that a lot. Thanks

[@monmixer]

You know you make phone calls via wifi and you obviously have internet. I would never build a home next to a river. Not that close, no way.

[@tannercole2673]

Do more videos like this!!! so Detailed and Informative about the Rivers 🏞️

[@Capt_Billy]

I managed to get two fishing trips in the river dodging some of the debris’s. Will be published on my next two Thursday slots. I am going to attempt to make a podcast tonight talking about some new information. I got about the supply efforts.

[@earlinemcgahen3931]

would not fish for a long time ,waters are poisoned by household cleaning supplies ,garage and vechicle toxicins and toxic plastic chemicals from plastic plant

[@KathySwampQueen]

NE Tennessee here....totally devastating...bridges GONE....roads GONE....do NOT donate to FEMA..keep your $ local....bc FEMA is not helping hardly anyone...especially us 🤬 yeah I'm bitter and upset....I'm disabled and can't make it to any relief sites....nobody came except LOCALS ❤....just got temporary cell service...hopefully life gets better....soon

[@Capt_Billy]

Yeah FEMA was giving everyone issues when they arrived. They confiscated my buddies supplies. I made a podcast about this issue. I am hoping the chaos has settled down by now (according to another friend they were able to do some logging to help out). If you need anything let me know! I will see if I can get anyone to make it to you.

[@hughjanus5518]

40 trillion gallons fell with Helene.

[@richardlinn5512]

SALVATION ARMY, not red cross

[@bluelava4282]