SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — A Sevier County woman's driveway is now a river thanks to floodwaters spilling over the roadway. She and her family crafted a makeshift bridge out of planks to get her across.
82-year-old Shirley Doane lives on Douglas Dam Road and wants a solution to her flooding problem.
"It's just everywhere," Doane said. "It's under my house, it's in my yard, it's in the garden. It's just scary to see it all coming at you!"
Doane, a grandmother, has to balance on a strip of plywood to get from her house to dry land. She said she promises her loved ones she will be careful, but that doesn't stop them from worrying.
Doane's coworker, Steve McClane, said he is constantly checking in on her to make sure she's okay.
"I'm worried about the water situation for her, the mold that would be in her house, and her crossing the water here and it's just very unsafe for Miss Shirley," McClane said.
It all started when the storms hit in February. Doane's sons placed sand bags, but water is still seeping into her house.
"I don't really know how to start," Doane said. "You just see water coming across that road and you know you can't get out."
This same thing happened last year during the February 2019 floods in East Tennessee. But this year, after a stranger posted Shirley's situation on Facebook, more people have been reaching out to try and help.
"Well, you feel good when you know that people understand a little of it," Doane reassured. "It's hard for them to understand, I know on one thing they thought I needed money but money won't dry this water up."
Until something is done to fix how this water is drained, Doane is just putting one foot in front of the other.
"It's harder. I keep going, but it's harder," Doane nodded.
To really get this issue fixed, a larger intervention is needed. TDOT said the flooding in Doane's yard isn't an issue with the state road, and it would be up to the county to fix it.
The family has been in contact with a county commissioner who is trying to find a solution to the problem.