Thousands Raised for Family of Twin 7-Month-Olds Killed in Catastrophic Tennessee Flooding

More than $50,000 has been raised for a Tennessee family whose 7-month-old twins were killed in catastrophic flooding on Saturday.

The children's parents were trying to escape the floods with their four children when the twins were swept away, WKRN-TV, a local television news station, reported. The twins' bodies were later found after an extensive search.

The GoFundMe was set up to support funeral expenses and for the house the family lost in the floods. By 11:15 a.m. Monday, it had raised nearly $55,000.

In an update, Joey Hall, who identified himself as a family member, said they are thankful for the support. "You all are like angels to us right now and we appreciate everything everyone has done. It is things like this of everyone helping that gets us through such hard times in life," Hall wrote.

Donors expressed their grief and thoughts in the comments.

One donor, Ashley White, said her "heart hurts" for the family.

"From one twin Mom to another, I send you my deepest condolences," she wrote. "My heart hurts for you both, and I cannot even begin to imagine how you feel."

Newsweek reached out to the GoFundMe organizer Monday morning but had not heard back by publication. This story will be updated with any response.

Heavy rainfall led to flooding in Middle Tennessee over the weekend, killing more than 20 people. Parts of Humphreys County—about an hour west of Nashville—received a record-breaking 17 inches of rain in 24 hours. Emergency crew members have continued to search for missing people.

"I would expect, given the number of fatalities, that we're going to see mostly recovery efforts at this point rather than rescue efforts," Tennessee Emergency Management Director Patrick Sheehan told the Associated Press.

In a news conference, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who toured the areas devastated by the flooding, called it a "devastating picture of loss and heartache."

The Piney River indicated a record crest of 31.8 feet, significantly higher than the previous record of 20.08 feet in February 2019, according to the NWS Nashville.

Video posted to Twitter captured the scope of the floods.

The floods potentially left hundreds of homes uninhabitable, pushing some off of their foundation. Vehicles were left submerged, and storefronts, bridges and roads were washed away. Schools in the county remain closed this week and more than 10,000 customers remain without power.

Outages are expected to last late into the week for some areas, the Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative said in a statement.

Waverly Mayor Buddy Frazier said people were caught off guard by the rain. "It was something like the quickness of a tornado I guess. Someone described it as a tidal wave," he said.

President Joe Biden pledged to provide federal support to Tennessee on Sunday.

"I want to begin by expressing my deepest condolences for the sudden and tragic loss of life due to this flash flood," he said. "I know we reached out to the community, and we stand ready to offer them support."