Hundreds were evacuated as dams in North Carolina were threatened after flooding from Storm Helene

Residents downstream of two dams in North Carolina are being evacuated immediately after reports of a “catastrophic failure” due to flooding from Hurricane Helene.

Officials in Cocke County, Tennessee, said Friday afternoon that the Waterville Dam had failed just over the state line in North Carolina and urged everyone in downtown Newport to get out.

State officials and the National Weather Service (NWS), citing the power company that operates the dam, later said it was a false alarm, but evacuation orders remained in effect.

Meanwhile, officials in Rutherford County, North Carolina, urged residents downstream of the Lake Lure dam to flee to higher ground as floodwaters overwhelmed the top of the 124-foot barrier and poured “uncontrollably” around the edges.

“Water climbs the dam and flows around the side walls. The structural supports are damaged, but the dam is currently holding,” the county disaster management agency said at 1:44 p.m. local time.

“There were evacuations from the dam to Island Creek Road. Evacuation sirens are sounding below the dam.”

At least 41 people died in several states Friday evening after Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida late Thursday at 140 miles per hour and a Category 4, lashing the West Coast in “unsurvivable” conditions.

As Helene downgraded and winds died down as it moved inland, it continued to dump large amounts of water over Georgia, the Carolinas, and then into Tennessee and Kentucky as it moved north.

The result was chaos and confusion across a wide area, with both Rutherford County in North Carolina and Cocke County in Tennessee initially claiming the levees had broken or were about to burst.

“EMERGENCY UPDATE: WATERVILLE DAM HAS SUFFERED A CASTASIC FAILURE. “Immediate evacuation of entire downtown Newport,” Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis wrote on Facebook just before 3 p.m. local time.

But the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) said: “We have been informed that the dam has not failed, according to Duke Energy. Evacuations are still taking place in the area.”

Duke Energy announced just before 6 p.m. local time that all floodgates at Waterville Dam had been opened and that the structure was functioning “as expected.” However, a spokesman declined to say whether the dam was damaged or not.

A spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality also confirmed this The Independent that Lake Lure Dam appeared to have a solid structure around 3 p.m.

“Due to the rains, the dam is said to have overflowed along its entire length. The structure was intact at the time of the last reports we have,” said spokesman Josh Kastrinsky. “Some erosion has been noted on the left abutment of the structure and there is some water flowing around that abutment.”

A later update at 6:15 p.m. said the flow over the dam crest had decreased from 2 feet deep to 1 foot or less, but water was still “flowing uncontrollably around the right and left abutments.”

On Facebook, wedding and portrait photographer Helen Pace, who lives on the other side of Lake Lure from the dam, posted images of her badly damaged home and a road destroyed by floodwaters.

“We feel good physically,” she said. “The water has started to recede and I think we have dodged the forecast winds… We can't go out now, we have no power, no water and cell phone reception appears to be limited. I send my love to you all.”

Rutherford County's evacuation orders named a total of 45 streets in two separate Facebook posts. Officials said storm shelters had been opened at Lake Lure City Hall and Rutherfordtown Presbyterian Church.

It was not immediately clear Friday how many people are affected by the evacuations, but Newport has an estimated population of about 7,000 and Lake Lure about 1,600.

Lure Dam was built in 1927 on the Broad River, about an hour's drive east of Asheville and two hours west of Charlotte.

Lake Lure itself is best known nationwide as the filming location for the 1987 film Dirty dancingwhich used it as a replacement for the Catskill Mountains in northern New York State.

Kastrinsky said the Lake Lure Dam was rated “highly hazardous” due to the large number of people and roads downstream, but was most recently found to be in “good” condition, the second highest of four available ratings.

Located at the confluence of the Pigeon River and Big Creek, Waterville Dam is also known as Walters Dam. Both dams are located in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 6:46 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, September 27, 2024, to reflect new statements from emergency officials regarding Waterville Dam.