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    • Officials say a Lake Lure Dam failure is imminent
    Massachusetts

    Officials say a Lake Lure Dam failure is imminent

    Idris Bevan Posted on

    Several counties in western North Carolina experienced flooding caused by heavy rain from Helene, just hours after it made landfall in Florida as a Category 4.

    As Helene weakens, the now-tropical storm’s strong winds and heavy rains continue to wreak havoc across the southeastern United States, including North Carolina, where at least one county has ordered evacuations.

    Rutherford County Emergency Management ordered residents living along certain roads to evacuate to higher ground as water overflows Lake Lure Dam, according to a Facebook post shared by the government office Friday morning.

    Emergency officials warned in a Facebook post at 11 a.m. ET that a Lake Lure dam failure was “imminent.”

    This update came after Rutherford County Emergency Management reported that “catastrophic water flows along the Broad River into Lake Lure” overtopped the dam, resulting in severe flooding downstream, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

    Officials released a list of streets where residents are being asked to evacuate. You can view the list on the Rutherford County Emergency Management Facebook page.

    The dam is about 30 miles southeast of Asheville.

    Flood warnings issued

    Flood warnings have been issued for several counties and cities in western North Carolina, including Avery, Alleghany, Ashe, Watauga, Wilkes and Boone.

    A four-year-old was killed and others injured in a crash in Catawba County on Thursday as Helene’s outside gangs attacked the state. In Charlotte, one person died and another was hospitalized after a tree fell on a home just after 5 a.m. Friday, according to the Charlotte Fire Department.

    “This was a storm-related fatality,” Capt. John Lipcsak, a fire department spokesman, told USA TODAY.

    “Catastrophic, life-threatening flooding” is forecast in western North Carolina

    The NWS previously told the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network, that Hurricane Helene’s outer rain band was likely to hit western North Carolina on Thursday, bringing 6 to 10 inches of additional rain and strong winds.

    Before the powerful storm made landfall, NWS meteorologist Clay Chaney said area residents should not underestimate how serious conditions could be, including possible “catastrophic, life-threatening flooding.”

    Photos of flooding in western North Carolina

    Contributor: Iris Seaton/ Asheville Citizen Times

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    Idris Bevan
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