A pet dog was found alive after surviving five days clinging to a tree during Hurricane Helene in Tennessee.

The tiny grey and white pooch was swept by floodwaters 20ft (6 metres) off the ground and took refuge on hardwood branches before being saved in Washington County.

When the deluge receded, its owners searched for it and was rescued by members of the K9 search team near Nolichucky River.

Footage shows Kingsport Fire Department officers assisting the team and climbing a tree on a ladder to evacuate the dog.

It was provided with a meal and water, as it had been starving without food for almost a week before being taken to an animal control facility.

Kingsport Fire Department Public Information Officer Barry Brickey said: ‘This was a bright spot in the middle of this chaos.

The canine was reunited with its family when its owner's cousin Makayla Cloyd arrived to claim the pooch on October 3.

The Washington County animal shelter spokesman said: ‘The past week has been unbelievably hard, heartbreaking, and devastating for everyone in East Tennessee.'

The shelter was also flooded by the hurricane. Since the natural disaster struck, the number of displaced animals under their care soared to 500, with 77 new ones arriving in only six days.

Hurricane Helene, one of the deadliest mainland hurricanes in the US since Katrina, killed more than 225, half of whom were from North Carolina.

It made landfall in the Big Bend area of the Florida Gulf Coast on September 26 evening as a Category 4 storm with winds above 140mph and a 15ft (4.5 metres) storm surge.

Helene dumped heavy rains on Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky, causing deadly flooding.

Hundreds of victims remain missing, and 780,000 homes are still without electricity a week after its landfall.