Cocke County, Newport TN evacuated following flooding in Helene

(This report has been updated with new information.)

Officials in Cocke County ordered all of downtown Newport to evacuate immediately after 3 p.m. on September 27 after reports that a dam in North Carolina had “suffered a catastrophic failure,” despite the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency announced that around 4:40 p.m. Duke Energy said the dam had not failed.

Walters Dam is owned and operated by Duke Energy. He controls part of the Pigeon River. Walters Dam is also known as Waterville Dam and both names have been used in the notices of various officials.

“Duke Energy currently has all gates open at Waterville Dam and continues to transfer water through the dam,” Duke Energy spokeswoman Madison McDonald said in an email to Knox News. “We can confirm that both the dam and our locks are operating as expected.”

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Pigeon River near Newport crested at 27.13 feet, nearly four feet above its previous record of 23.4 feet, and rose about 22 feet in 16 hours.

Several water rescues have occurred in Cocke County, according to Tennessee Emergency Management. The Newport Community Center at 433 Prospect Ave. is open to people who do not have safe accommodation.

“Walters Dam on the Pigeon River is no longer in danger of imminent dam failure,” the National Weather Service office in Morristown wrote at 4:45 p.m. Emergency Management and Law Enforcement: Do not drive on flooded or closed roads.

“All county and city emergency resources are currently fully engaged in water rescue and evacuation efforts,” Mathis wrote in a Facebook post earlier this afternoon. “We are still a few hours away from the expected high water mark.”

“If water rises near you, please do not wait for the water to reach you. Make escape plans BEFORE you need help.”

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Rain forced the closure of Interstate 40 East in Cocke County at Exit 432 as floodwaters from the Pigeon River threatened to spill onto the interstate, Tennessee Department of Transportation spokesman Mark Nagi said.

According to a video posted by Nagi, parts of Hartford were under water this afternoon. The city lies on the banks of the Pigeon River.

Rivers reach and exceed record highs

The Pigeon River near Newport reached more than three times its flood stage as of 4 p.m. on Sept. 27 and shattered record heights as it crested over 27 feet. The previous record was 23 feet, 4 inches.

Likewise, the French Broad near Newport was expected to reach more than double its flood level by the end of the day. By 3:45 p.m. it had reached a depth of nearly 19 feet, but was expected to reach 23 feet early on September 28. The record for the river is 24 feet.

The water pouring into the French Broad River and Pigeon River, causing catastrophic flooding in several counties along the Tennessee-North Carolina border, is the result of runoff from the Smoky Mountains, said Scott Brooks, spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Inmates evacuated from county jail

About 50 to 60 inmates were moved from the Cocke County Jail to the Jefferson County Jail because of the threat of flooding, a Jefferson County Jail representative said.

Reporters Angela Dennis and Daniel Dassow contributed to this report.

This story will be updated.

Cocke County, Newport TN evacuated following flooding in Helene

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