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Dolly Parton Donating To Middle Tennessee Flood Relief Efforts

Country superstar Dolly Parton is doing her part to boost the Middle Tennessee flood relief effort.

The country icon is donating a portion of ticket sales from Dollywood and her dinner shows on Oct. 2 and 3 to the United Way of Humphreys County.

Parton said the donation is just her way of reciprocating the help she received after the 2016 wildfires. She wanted to lend a hand to her friend Loretta Lynn. The country legend lives in Humphreys County. And Lynn had chipped in to help Sevier County after those wildfires, WATE reports.

Dolly Parton Is All About People Helping People

Parton is all about helping people in need, whether that be her own people or the people of Tennessee. Because after calamity strikes, witnessing human kindness can help to restore one’s faith in humanity.

“After the Sevier County wildfires in 2016, Loretta was one of the first who reached out to offer anything she could,” Parton said in a statement. “It meant so much to me that Loretta—and so many folks—were ready to give in any way they could. This was just one small way I could help Loretta’s people for all they did to help my people.”

Lynn’s Hurricane Mills ranch suffered serious damage in the flooding. And her foreman and friend died in the floodwaters.

Flooding Devastated Middle Tennessee

More than 20 people died in Tennessee amid the flooding that followed roughly 15 inches of torrential rain in late August. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency declared a state of emergency in the storm’s aftermath.

According to the Tennessean, in Humphreys County, there were reports of people trapped in their houses with water up to their necks.

As the rain accumulated, the National Weather Service issued an unusual “flash flood emergency” for Houston, Humphreys, Dickson and Hickman counties. The subsequent flooding destroyed many houses. And it sent cars floating away in the muddy waters.

“My husband said one minute he was [watching TV news] and the next minute we had no garage,” Waverly resident Cindy Dunn told the Tennessean. The couple had to be rescued from their attic window by a crew driving a bulldozer.

Water rescue crews from three counties deployed to help local residents. So did the Tennessee National Guard and the Tennessee Departments of Transportation, Education, Human Needs and Environment and Conservation. Tennessee Fire Mutual Aid was also involved in the rescues.

Meanwhile, an emergency operations center went up in Nashville to oversee the flood response efforts. Shelters opened in Dickson, Hickman and Humphreys counties. And the Tennessee Highway Patrol rescued motorists in all four of the affected Tennessee counties.