After The Headlines Fade
Editor’s Note: Two years after Hurricane Helene devastated East Tennessee, Cocke County residents and recovery organizations continue the long process of rebuilding homes and lives.
Natural disasters dominate headlines when they happen. Images of flooded communities, destroyed homes and displaced families fill television screens and social media feeds.
Then, eventually, the headlines fade.
For the communities left behind, however, recovery is only beginning.
Nearly two years after Hurricane Helene brought catastrophic flooding to East Tennessee on Sept. 27, 2024, communities throughout the region are still rebuilding. Cocke County, including Newport and Del Rio, was among the areas hit hardest.
The recovery has made significant progress, but the work is not finished.
As of September 2026, the Cocke County Long-Term Recovery Group had managed more than 225 household cases, with fewer than 80 remaining open. The organization has directed nearly $1.5 million in gap funding to families affected by Helene and worked with approximately 75 partner organizations.
More than 42,000 volunteer hours have also gone into the county's recovery.
Spring Duckett, executive director of the Cocke County Long-Term Recovery Group, recently said residential repairs are on pace to be completed around the three-year anniversary of the storm — earlier than the organization's initial five-year estimate.
Those numbers show progress, but they also illustrate how long disaster recovery can continue after national attention moves elsewhere.
David Baines, director of God's Warehouse, has seen that process firsthand.
God's Warehouse, a disaster relief ministry operated through the Nolachucky Baptist Association, became a major distribution point following Helene, providing building materials, supplies and other assistance to communities throughout the region.
"They come and tell us what they need, and then we help them," Baines said. "We try to order things that we know they're going to be needing, and, as I like to say, try to be a poor man's Lowe's or a poor man's Home Depot for them and try to give them free supplies to help them in their recovery efforts."
God's Warehouse reports that more than $34 million in relief food and materials passed through the organization following Helene.
Some of the materials needed for rebuilding are expensive. Baines said shipments of lumber and insulation can cost between $20,000 and $25,000 per load.
The needs also extend far beyond construction materials.
In the months following Helene, Baines said God's Warehouse worked across Cocke, Greene, Washington, Unicoi, Carter and Johnson counties. By late 2025, the organization had helped repair hundreds of households or assisted families moving into newly constructed homes.
For some residents, rebuilding has meant starting over completely.
A Cocke County recovery worker, who asked not to be identified, said displaced residents living in campers faced another challenge as winter approached.
"Winterization for displaced residents living in campers focuses a lot on underpinning, insulating the underside and blocking cold air from circulating under the structure," the recovery worker said.
The worker said crews also had to clear roofs, inspect propane and electrical systems and repair leaks as temperatures dropped.
For the worker, the experience was personal.
After being displaced by Helene, the worker also spent approximately a year living in a camper.
"Living in a camper for the last year, I'm just ready to get out of here and move on to bigger and better things and get back into a house," the worker said.
The lack of space and storage made long-term camper living difficult.
"It can be a pain," the worker said.
Organizations including Appalachia Service Project and the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board have continued building homes for Helene survivors.
In August, the organizations celebrated completion of their 40th home built since Helene. Ten of those homes were constructed in Cocke County, with volunteers contributing more than 90,000 hours to the overall rebuilding effort.
The organizations have said they plan to build another 40 homes in Newport.
Other organizations have also helped families transition from temporary housing into permanent homes.
For Baines, volunteers remain one of the most important pieces of the recovery.
"Without the help from the volunteers, I don't even think we'd be 20% of the way there," Baines said. "Maybe not even 15%. What they have done has helped us in ways they don't even know, and it's probably doubled the speed that things are moving."
The recovery extends beyond homes.
Businesses and infrastructure throughout Cocke County also sustained significant damage. In January, Tennessee officials announced more than $4.5 million in grants for Eastern Plating and American Appliance, two Newport companies damaged by Helene.
Eastern Plating estimated the storm caused approximately $10 million in damage if a complete rebuild was necessary. By early 2026, the company had rebuilt 14 of its 25 plating lines and restored more than half of its business.
American Appliance also sustained severe flooding at its Newport facility.
The grants were designed to help the companies retain or retrain more than 300 employees as the local economy continues recovering.
Road and infrastructure repairs remain part of the broader regional recovery as well. The Tennessee Department of Transportation continues to work on routes damaged by Helene across East Tennessee, including Cocke County.
Still, the most visible measure of recovery may be families finally returning home.
In September, a Del Rio family moved back into its home nearly two years after Helene. Other residents across Cocke County have received newly constructed homes through partnerships among recovery organizations, nonprofits and volunteer groups.
Each completed home closes one chapter of the recovery, but dozens of families still have active cases.
For organizations such as God's Warehouse, that means the work continues.
"It's not about a set dollar amount," Baines said. "God provides on time every time. Supplies keep coming in just when we need them, and the warehouse stays full. We just order what's needed, and people keep sending in money. It's been a challenge, but it's an amazing operation."
Nearly two years after Helene, Cocke County looks different than it did in the days immediately following the storm. Homes have been rebuilt, families have returned and businesses are reopening.
But recovery from a disaster of Helene's magnitude does not happen when the floodwaters recede — and it does not end when the headlines disappear.
For many families across East Tennessee, rebuilding remains a daily reality.
Those looking to assist with the continuing recovery can find information through the Cocke County Long-Term Recovery Group. According to the Cocke County government’s flood relief information page, monetary donations for Hurricane Helene recovery are handled by the Cocke County Partnership. The county lists the Long-Term Recovery Group at 516 Fourth St. in Newport and the Cocke County Partnership donation line at 423-623-7201.
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