An anonymous donor is paying for the funerals of all 20 people who died in the tragic flooding that took place last week in Tennessee.
At least two of the victims were 7-month-old twins who were torn away from their parents’ arms in the devastating flash floods.
What are the details?
The New York Post reports that the unnamed male donor has “visited multiple funeral homes” across the state to pay for the services for those who perished in the catastrophic floods over the weekend.
In some areas of the state, more than 17 inches of rain fell, spurring on dangerous flash flooding across the area.
According to a report from the Nashville Tennesseean, Humphreys County Funeral Home manager William Brown said that the donor arrived at the facility on Thursday and paid for nine funerals that are set to take place at that location alone.
“The donations come as hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors across the state and nation have come to help after Saturday’s devastating floods,” the report added. “The county seat, Waverly, was the epicenter of the floods, with hundreds of homes wiped out after 17 inches of rain was dumped in the area.”
The good Samaritan told Brown that he wishes to remain anonymous.
What else?
According to WKRN-TV, the twins — Ryan and Rileigh Rigney — were laid to rest Wednesday at the West Harpeth Funeral Home in West Nashville.
Their mother, Danielle Hall, openly wept as she said, “I miss them more than anything in this world.”
A mother of four, Hall said that her children were with their father and set out to get help Saturday after the family was caught in the flooding, but was quickly swept away by the rushing waters.
All she could think about was her children.
“I was praying like crazy that my babies would be alive,” she said. “I was hanging onto a tree, I was just screaming, ‘Please, go save my babies.'”
The twins slipped from their father’s arms, according to the station, as he scrambled to rescue the couple’s other two children.
“My 5-year-old swam up to the top and grabbed onto his neck and didn’t let go, and even he lost our 19-month-old,” Hall recalled. “He said he saw her arms flapping in the water. There was no signs of our twins at all.”
Hall said that she wants her children to be “remembered as the best babies in the world.”