Tennessee woman drowns while filming terrifying moment floodwaters surging past her house

Linda Almond, 55, clung to a power line pole before the water swept her away

A 70-second Facebook live video captured the terrifying last moments of a 55-year-old Tennessee woman who filmed the floodwaters surging past her house moments before being swept away.

Linda Almond was trapped inside her house in Waverly on Saturday as floodwaters rushed past. She is heard saying in the clip: “We are being flooded right now. Really scary. Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!”

Moments later, the house was swept away by the surging waters and Almond drowned.

Almond is one of at least 22 people killed in the deadly rainstorm in the Waverly region in Tennessee. Local reports said that dozens are still reported missing. The devastating rainstorm swept away cars and destroyed homes.

On Saturday, when Almond posted on Facebook, authorities said that an estimated 21 inches of rain fell over the area that day and nine inches in just three hours.

In the Facebook live clip, her 37-year-old son Tommy is heard saying that something hit the side of the house.

Almond’s daughter Victoria told the Washington Post that her mother and brother held on to a utility pole but they let it go when they saw a house floating towards them. She said: “I could hear in his voice, the way he described it and his tone of voice” that her mother was dead. “I already knew. It wasn’t confirmed, but I already knew.”

She added: “My brother went down for about 45 seconds underwater and when he came back up, he couldn’t find mom. That was when they let go. It was the last time he saw her.”

Ms Almond said that the video was posted at 10.13am on Saturday. She saw the video in the afternoon and said: “That was when the real worry hit.” She said that she spoke to an aunt who had talked with her brother.

“She was crying and said that mom and Tommy were in danger and got caught in the flood,” she said. Tommy survived by climbing onto the roof of a wrecked building until the floodwater receded. “He really seems like he’s in shock.”

Almond’s body was recovered on Sunday.

Meanwhile, authorities said on Tuesday that about 120 homes were washed off foundations, destroyed or simply gone. The search efforts are continuing, authorities added.

Local reports also said that those killed in the devastating rainstorm include babies and the elderly as well. A pair of seven-month-old twins also died after they were swept out of their parents’ arms, local reports said.

Those displaced have been sheltering at churches and with housing provided by the American Red Cross. President Joe Biden on Monday ordered federal aid to the families in addition to declaring the floods a major disaster.