A Tennessee woman was killed by rushing floodwaters right after she used Facebook Live to update family and friends, the Washington Post reported.
“We are being flooded right now,” Linda Almond, 55, said as floodwaters rushed past her window in Waverly, Tennessee. “Really scary.”
Almond was swept out of the house by floodwaters moments after the video was taken, the Washington Post reported. She held on to a utility pole, but died sometime after letting go, her daughter confirmed early Tuesday.
At least 22 people have died, and another 50 are still missing, due to the flooding in the Waverly region of Tennessee, about 60 miles from Nashville. An estimated 21 inches of rain fell within hours, starting around 9 a.m. Saturday.
Almond’s daughter Victoria told the Washington Post her mother was living with her son for a few months to save money for a car. She said the real worry hit when she saw her mother’s video from Saturday morning a few hours later, after she had not been able to contact her mother or brother Tommy.
“Whoa, whoa,” Almond can be heard in the video.
A second person, most likely her son Tommy, said, “I think something just hit the side of the house.”
“This is scary,” Almond responded. “Oh, my goodness, oh, my goodness.”
Tommy had called his aunt to tell her that he had gotten to safety, but that his mother was still missing, Victoria said. The aunt then called her.
“She was crying and said that Mom and Tommy were in danger and got caught in the flood,” Victoria told the Washington Post. “My brother’s house was lifted off its foundation.”
Victoria wasn’t sure how her mother and Tommy ended up in the middle of the floodwaters holding on to a utility pole, but they lost each other when they let go to avoid a house they saw floating toward them, the Washington Post reported.
“My brother went down for about 45 seconds underwater and when he came back up, he couldn’t find Mom,” Victoria told the Washington Post.
Almond’s body was recovered by authorities on Sunday and identified by Victoria’s aunt, who arrived at the hospital first, the Washington Post reported.
“I refused to see my mom in that state,” Victoria told the Washington Post. “We’re not doing a viewing because Tommy didn’t want to see her again like that.”
In addition to the loss of their mother, Victoria said Tommy is also processing the trauma he experienced.
“He really seems like he’s in shock,” she told the Washington Post. “He was in the military and he said that flood was the scariest thing he’s ever been through.”
Victoria said her mother will be remembered for her warm and caring personality, the Washington Post reported. While they searched for Almond, Victoria kept thinking of a fish tattoo on her arm that stands for Jesus Christ.
The tattoo said, quoting the Bible, “Faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
“That’s what she lived her life by, and that’s what she taught me to live by,” Victoria said.
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