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Families worry as yards erode from flooding in Sevier County

Rising and falling water levels from last week's flooding are washing away their yards.

SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — Randy Atchley's walk to the French Broad River from his house got shorter after the flooding this past weekend. 

"Saturday and Sunday when it was raining so hard, the water was up to our dock here," Atchley said.

He lives half a mile south of the Douglas Dam, and the rain and spillage constantly change the water levels.

Atchley and his neighbors' yards are beginning to wash away.

"Within the last few months, we've lost roughly six foot of yard," Atchley said. "Our concrete dock has already fallen. It's right up to our utility shed... it's just in the process of going in next."

Every time the water rises, Atchley is worried about his property.

"You're on a riding mower, trying to trim your bank, you don't know if its under-washed, if it's going to fall off, flip you out in the river or what," he said.

There is a stump that sits in the water 4 feet from the bank in Atchley's backyard. He has lost 8 to 10 feet of his yard since living there.

This problem is only one of many for Atchley, but Tennessee Emergency Management Agency wants to help.

Joe Ayers, director of the Sevier County Emergency Management Agency, has been looking for properties that were affected by this weekend's severe flooding.

►READ MORE: TEMA opens crisis cleanup hotline as flood response continues across state

"Looking at infrastructure that was damaged, looking at personal property that was damaged and also commercial property to get an idea at a dollar figure of what those damages might result in," Ayers said.

Sevier County needs to meet a $300,000 threshold to get federal funding. The damage is estimated to be more than $1 million dollars.

This is good news for Sevier County, but it will not help Atchley.

"We won't be able to give them any money, they will have the opportunity to go meet with FEMA and put in their own application for assistance," Ayers said.

Anyone who needs help from TEMA can call the crisis hotline at 1-833-556-2476.

Until that help comes, Atchley and his neighbors can only sit and watch as their yards continue to wash away.

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