Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Officials on Tuesday said that 18 people have died and three more remain missing following severe flooding in Tennessee.
Waverly Department of Public Safety Chief Grant Gillespie confirmed the new death toll after previously reporting as many as 21 dead, saying the change was the result of a counting error at the hospital.
Three people who died of natural causes were misclassified as victims of the flooding.
"We didn't realize they were not flood victims," Gillespie said. "They came through the emergency room or were already in the emergency room and their name got put on the list."
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The three missing people included one woman and two people younger than 18.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday approved a Major Disaster Declaration for Tennessee, releasing federal disaster assistance for the state's recovery efforts.
It also makes federal funding available for residents of Humphreys County providing grants for temporary housing and home repairs, and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses among other programs.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis estimated that 100 to 125 homes are "just gone" after surveying flood damage by helicopter on Monday.
"What I mean by gone is they are either off their foundation, twisted or turned," he said. "Those are just the ones we saw. There are hundreds of other homes that have been affected."
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday reported that about 750 people remained without power in Humphreys County as of Tuesday afternoon as cell phone service was also down throughout portions of the county.
An 8 p.m. curfew and boil water advisory remained in effect in Waverly, although water services were restored in most of the city.
