WAVERLY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Two years have passed since Humphreys County was overcome by floodwaters. Twenty-one inches of rain fell in just one day. Twenty lives were lost. For those who survived, I found the trauma is still right below the surface.
“These kids are mature, they’ve lived through a lot, and I think it’s helped them grow,” explains Kathy Trull – a senior English teacher at Waverly Central High School.
She has stood in front of a classroom of students for more than two decades and says the seniors in her class this year are different. They survived the flood.
Jillian Moran fought back tears remembering the day.
“I was at my mom’s house – it was my dad’s house that flooded – and I just didn’t know where anybody was.”
It took hours to make contact since all communication lines were down.
Classmate Daylynn Baker knows that fear too. Tears that seem tightly contained, begin to flow as memories flood back.
“My dad and his buddies they took out their boats… they were unloading their boats trying to go help people. My dad has always been my hero… not that he could have died, but he could have gotten sick or taken with that current.”
Two years later, daily life for these teens now includes navigating quizzes and scholarship opportunities. It is a new normal that has been elusive for most of their high school career.
“Even our freshman year wasn’t normal because of COVID. But even as things were starting to get normal the flood just ruined all the progress,” explains Broede Pickard.
On top of that, there is an overwhelming sense of an unwinnable balancing act between needing to talk about the flood and wanting to move on.
“Everyone just kind of came together, but no one really talks about really how traumatic that morning was,” says Baker.
But Claire Bullington adds, “nobody wants to look back because it’s just that bad.”
Grief, anger and unbelief at the slow recovery process persists.
"I think there needs to be changes made so it doesn’t happen again – like the creeks cleaned out and the buildings repaired,” says Brooke Barnes.
But hope lives here too. Hope for a town that's resilience is reflected in each of these students who have endured so much. Moran wants to attend MTSU to become a dental hygienist. But she also plans to return to Humphreys County.
“It’s just home, everyone is here.”
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“My dad and his buddies they took out their boats… they were unloading their boats trying to go help people. My dad has always been my hero."
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