East Tennessee and its mountainous terrain are a maze of rivers controlled by dams. Floods from Hurricane Helene tore through them and caused massive destruction as the water brought down roads and bridges,

The towns of Boyd's Creek, Kimberlin Heights, Kodak, Sevierville and Seymour were at particular risk of flooding from the French Broad River. At the flooded Deerfield Mobile Home Park, the county EMA is allowing residents to return to gather their belongings. Residents must check in and out with law enforcement officials on site, Ayres said.

The TVA shares current lake levels on its website at tva.com. Elevated releases are expected to continue over the next several days to recover flood storage if needed, particularly in areas like the Douglas watershed. In addition, the Tailwater Campground at Douglas is closed due to storm damage.

A boom is a floating barrier that captures surface and submerged debris in bodies of water, the Tennessee Valley Authority said.

River-level maintenance efforts continue nearly a week after Helene impacted the region. The Tennessee Valley Authority on Thursday announced that it is deploying a 4,000-foot boom across Douglas Lake to capture debris.