NEWPORT, Tenn. (WVLT) - Saturday marks one year since Hurricane Helene hit East Tennessee. On Friday, Cocke County officially marked the day to move forward as recovery continues.

Rosie Coie, a Del Rio resident, described the scene she saw on the banks of the French Broad River one year ago.

“It was very, very scary. To see our friends’ homes float by, it was, you would just do anything to help anybody,” Coie said.

Margaret McKay said the water cut off Fugate Road and other surrounding exits, trapping residents at their homes.

“We had lost power; everyone had lost power. Everybody was trapped. There was no access,” McKay said.

In the year since, it was the people of Del Rio who helped each other find the resources they need.

“It’s hard to explain how devastating it was,” Buffy Lucas

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