The families of those who died during Hurricane Helene claim they received a questionable condolence gift from the factory their relatives used to work for.
The hurricane hit parts of the US in September, and ended up claiming the lives of over 200 people.
Six of the people who died in the extreme weather incident last year were employees of Tennessee plastic factory, Impact Plastics.
Staffers at the factory who were working during the hurricane claim they were told they could not leave their place at work as water started to swamp the parking lot. However, Impact Plastics denied this was the case.
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Eventually Nolichucky River started to overflow, despite the dam remaining intact.
At the height of flooding was 1.3 million gallons per second, the Tennessee Valley Authority said in data published in November.
Parts of Impact Plastics' factory was swept away in the flooding — some of its employees included.
Six people ended up losing their lives in the incident, and their families have since argued that the deceased were likely to have survived the flooding had they been allowed to leave work sooner.
In a press release which was issued back in September, Impact Plastics founder Gerald O'Connor said: "We are devastated by the tragic loss of our great employees.
"Those who are missing or deceased and their families are in our thoughts and prayers."
The families of the deceased have since filed lawsuits against Impact Plastics arguing that the deaths were preventable.
As of January 2025, they reportedly haven't had any contact with Impact Plastics, but they have received condolence gifts in the shape of fast food gift cards, they say.
Family members of Bertha Mendoza, who was among those killed, have now spoken out.
Guillermo Mendoza told WCAX 3 that he'd received an envelope with a McDonald's gift card, one for Walmart, and other gifts for different fast food outlets.
"It was like, ‘Your mom died, but go get a burger,'" Guillermo said. "'It happened, so here is a little snack.'"
He went on: "Obviously we're very upset."
Employees who survived the ordeal were also allegedly given similar gift cards.
"I was shocked, and it bothered me," Robert Jarvis said. "That is how they treated us and what they thought about us."
Elsewhere, attorney Luke Widener, who is with the law firm representing the victims, branded the questionable gifts as a 'slap in the face'.
UNILAD has approached Impact Plastics for comment.
Niamh Shackleton