At least 22 dead, 20 missing in Tennessee after flash flood sweeps away homes

Deadly Tennessee floods

Fox Weather MMJ Robert Ray was in Tennessee where deadly flooding took place over the weekend.

At least 22 people were killed and 20 were still missing Monday after a flash flood in middle Tennessee swept away homes over the weekend.

The water rushed into places near Waverly, Tennessee, about 65 miles west of Nashville, on Saturday, where as much as 17 inches of rain is estimated to have fallen.

According to the Associated Press, twin babies were among the nearly two dozen people who were killed. The sheriff of Humphreys County, where Waverly is located, told the AP that he lost one of his best friends.

On Monday, the Waverly Department of Public Safety posted a list on its Facebook page of 20 people who have been reported missing in the wake of the flood.

"The loss of life & property damage is devastating, & many of our neighbors are still missing," Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wrote on Twitter. "Please keep these communities in your prayers."

According to WZTV, both the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency will be in Waverly starting Monday to assess the damage.

Lee said during an interview with WWTN on Monday morning that he is hopeful the region will be able to recover after seeing the response from across the state.

"What’s encouraging to me is when I was there yesterday, there are people that have come, first responders that have come from Lake and Lauderdale and up east and from counties all over this state, who converged on Waverly and started helping those folks out there," Lee said.

Lee said people who want to help should make donations to nonprofits that are working in the region.

TEMA has set up a special page on its website dedicated to response efforts at tn.gov/tema.