"We had no idea it was flooded until someone came and told us we had to move our car because the water was rising," said Ms. [Lauren Bailey], who lives on the first floor of Superior Creek Lodge in East Ridge.

"People didn't have time to evacuate," said Ms. [Melissa Kimsey], with tears in her eyes.

"Our first responders performed extremely well in assisting people out of harm's way," Gov. [Phil Bredesen] said. "I would now like to see the damage assessments conducted as soon as possible so individuals affected by the flooding can receive all eligible assistance to assist with their recovery."

"Geographically this is a unique area of watershed because there's so much water coming down the plateau in the area," Sen. [Bo Watson] said. "Our main problem is how do we maintain what we currently have?"