'This is scary': Woman says on Facebook Live before getting swept away in Waverly floods

WAVERLY, Tenn. (WZTV) — A woman spent what’s believed to be some of the last moments of her life showing the catastrophic flash flooding in Waverly, Tennessee, over Facebook Live.

In the livestream just over a minute long, Linda Almond says: “We’re being flooded right now in Waverly, Tennessee – really scary.” She later adds: “This is scary.”

Linda’s sister, Patricia Steele, tells FOX 17 News that Linda and her son Tommy were trapped in the rapidly rising floodwaters. She remembers her sister calling her for help at around 9 a.m. Saturday morning.

Steele says she called the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office after learning Linda could not get through to 9-1-1.

“I told her help was coming. Help didn’t come,” Steele said painfully.

She says Tommy and Linda had to swim away from a burning house and tried to reach onto another home to cling to, when the raging waters washed Linda away and separated her from her son.

Linda, 55, didn’t make it. Tommy survived and called one of the only numbers he could remember – his aunt Patricia Steele.

“He barely survived. He had to hang on for four and a half hours before he got rescued,” Steele said. "Tommy's going to need help."

She assumed the worst when she didn’t receive a call from her sister.

“I knew when she didn’t call me, she was gone,” Steele said. “What mother wouldn’t want to try to find her son?”

With immense feelings of uncertainty, Steele drove from Cullman, Alabama, to Waverly. Once in the tight-knit town, authorities led Steele to Three Rivers Hospital to identify her sister’s body. She remembers investigators telling her Linda was one of the first flooding victims they found among the chaos.

“My goal was to find my sister and I found her. It’s not what I wanted, but I found her,” Steele said. “I knew in my heart Saturday she was gone.”

Steele believes there was no chance for people against the floodwaters. More than 17 inches of rain drenched the area over the weekend in just 24 hours, shattering Middle Tennessee’s record for 24-hour rainfall.Waverly authorities say 19 people died in the floods. Search and rescue efforts remain ongoing Wednesday.

“Everybody wants to talk about Linda and her video, but what a horrible way to die,” Steele said. “You don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”

Steele says while comments on Linda’s video have been harsh, the way the Waverly community has come together is inspiring.

“You talk about people coming together. What a wonderful community,” Steele said.

Linda, originally from Alabama, moved to Waverly just months before her tragic death. Her sister says, “She was finally happy.”

One of the last messages Steele sent her sister was that help was coming. If she could tell her one last thing, she would simply say, “I love you, Linda.”

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