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Dozens stranded on Tennessee hospital roof amid flooding; “dangerous” rescue underway
A risky rescue operation is underway to evacuate over 50 people stranded by fast-moving flood waters on the roof of a hospital in Erwin, in eastern Tennessee, as the remnants of Hurricane Helene bring torrential rains to the state, hospital administrators and officials said Friday.
“The hospital has been engulfed by extremely dangerous and rapidly moving water. The situation at the hospital is very dangerous and TEMA and National Guard resources are engaged in what can only be described as a dangerous rescue operation,” the hospital chain Ballad Health said in a statement.
Ballad Health received word Friday morning that Unicoi County Hospital needed to be evacuated immediately due to “unusually high and rising water” from the Nolichucky River in the eastern part of the state.
County officials deployed ambulances to evacuate 11 patients from the hospital, but the property flooded “so quickly the ambulances could not safely approach,” Ballad Health said. Boats were brought in to assist with the evacuation, but were unable to safely navigate the water around the hospital.
Ballad Health also said that high winds prevented helicopters from flying in to evacuate those stranded, but by 2:30 p.m., helicopters had arrived to conduct the operation, Rep. Diana Harshbarger said on X.
There are 54 people on the roof and seven people in rescue boats, Ballad Health said.
Hurricane Helene crashed ashore in Florida’s Big Bend area late Thursday night as a dangerous Category 4 storm. It has since been downgraded to a tropical depression. The storm has caused dozens of deaths in several states after inundating areas with what the National Hurricane Center described as historic and catastrophic flooding.
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Southwest Airlines is gearing up for some major changes over the next two years, an overhaul the carrier is betting will win big with passengers.
Along with more red-eye flights and a shift to assigned seating after 50 years of open seating, Southwest is redesigning the interior cabins of its 800 existing aircraft.
“This is a very significant change. It may be one of the most significant changes we’ve ever gone through,” Ryan Green, Southwest’s executive vice president commercial transformation, told CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave, who recently got a sneak peek at the future cabins.
Southwest passengers will notice the difference, said Van Cleave of the redesign. Changes include new seat trays and device trays for all passengers throughout the cabin, as well as charging ports in all of the seats.
For an additional fee, premium seating with 3-4 inches of additional legroom will also be offered on refurbished planes.
“Customers want premium of all kinds, and if you’re flying longer, that extra legroom is worth a lot,” Southwest CEO Bob Jordan told CBS News.
Southwest says it will begin booking flights with assigned seats in the second half of 2025 for travel in the first half of 2026. That’s also when the airline expects the newly designed cabins to be available, pending approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Jordan and other Southwest executives outlined the airline’s remodeling plans this week at an investor meeting in Dallas. The changes come as the company, long known for its loyal customers, looks to meet passengers’ evolving needs and boost its bottom line.
Said Jordan, “Consumer preferences have changed and, the way we fly has changed.”
contributed to this report.
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