Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Anonymous donor pays for funerals of 20 flooding victims

A funeral home manager says 20 people who died in a Tennessee flood have had their funerals paid for by an anonymous donor

Via AP news wire
Friday 27 August 2021 14:27 BST
APTOPIX Tennessee Flooding
APTOPIX Tennessee Flooding (THE TENNESSEAN)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Twenty people who died in a Tennessee flood have had their funerals paid for by an anonymous donor, a funeral home manager said.

A man who wished to remain unnamed walked into the the Humphreys County Funeral Home on Thursday and paid for the nine funerals being organized there, manager William Brown told the Tennessean. He said the man also went to other funeral homes in the area to pay for the funerals of the other 11 victims.

The donations came as hundreds of thousands of dollars flowed into the community from donors across the state and nation to help families affected by the devastating flood on Saturday.

The flooding took out houses, roads, cellphone towers and telephone lines, with rainfall that more than tripled forecasts and shattered the state record for one-day rainfall. More than 270 homes were destroyed and 160 took major damage, according to the Humphreys County Emergency Management Agency.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in