GREENE COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Trees fell along some state highways in Greene County early Friday morning, according to the county’s Emergency Management Agency (EMA) director.

EMA Director Heather Sipe told News Channel 11 that Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) crews were working as of 6:20 a.m. to remove trees that had fallen across state highways.

LIVE UPDATES: Helene makes landfall as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane

As of 6:20 a.m., 435 people in Greene County were without power, according to Sipe. News Channel 11 is tracking outages across the region. A full list of outages can be found by clicking here.

The Greene County EMA expects the Nolichucky River to continue to rise. According to Sipe, the river level in Embreeville was at 9.44 feet at 6:20 a.m., just at the action stage.

The agency expects the Nolichucky River to reach 15.5 feet by Saturday morning.

Rescue workers from across the region urged all drivers to exercise caution on Friday as several roads were already flooded.

Hurricane Helene is expected to hit the Tri-Cities region primarily between 8 a.m. and noon. Helene was downgraded to a tropical storm early Friday as it moved over Georgia after making landfall in Big Bend, Florida, around 11:20 p.m. Thursday.

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