Hurricane Helene has introduced twister watches, flood alerts, energy outages and extra destruction in its path. After it made landfall in Florida on Thursday, September 26, the tropical cyclone-turned-hurricane moved up the coast as a substitute of veering farther west. After hitting southern states together with North and South Carolina, Tennessee is now going through the storm’s wrath. The city of Newport in Cocke County is going through main flooding as a result of the Waterville Dam had a breach.
What Happened to the Waterville Dam?
On Friday, September 27, Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis introduced that the dam had failed, and he inspired locals to evacuate.
“THE WATERVILLE DAM HAS SUFFERED A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE,” Mathis wrote through Facebook. “EVACUATION ALL OF DOWNTOWN NEWPORT IMMEDIATELY.”
Earlier that day, Mathis assured the general public that emergency preparations had been made in anticipation of the storm’s impression.
🚨 #BREAKING: WATERVILLE DAM IN NC HAS SUFFERED A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE
The Mayor is ordering the city of Newport, TN to evacuate IMMEDIATELY, because it’s instantly downstream from the dam.
This is extremely harmful, and will very simply take out all the city if it breaks.… pic.twitter.com/gapIZJWdvg
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 27, 2024
“All county and metropolis emergency assets are at present absolutely engaged in water rescue and evacuation operations,” Mathis stated, based on WVLT 8. “We are nonetheless a number of hours from the anticipated high-water mark. Thank you to all of our emergency responders for his or her heroic efforts in the present day and within the days to come back.”
Newport, Tennessee, Suffers Flooding
I-40 East is closed beginning at MM 432.
This is the Pigeon River in Cocke County at MM 439.4. pic.twitter.com/CmbxuKwmHP— Mark Nagi (@MarkNagiTDOT) September 27, 2024
Cocke County — which incorporates Newport — issued a state of emergency shortly after the mayor introduced the dam had damaged. The Waterville Dam wasn’t the one one which had a breach as a result of storm; Walters Dam in Tennessee additionally failed.
The NWS in Nashville tweeted earlier within the day that the hurricane was going to trigger heavy rain and “localized flooding.”
“Hurricane Helene has weakened to a tropical storm and is at present over far japanese TN,” the NWS wrote alongside a picture of a map monitoring the storm. “It will deliver intervals of rain in the present day, heavy at instances by way of this night. Localized flooding will likely be doable by way of tonight. Tonight and thru the weekend rain will likely be extra showery.”
Hurricane Helene’s Destructive Path
Helene’s destruction started on Thursday, September 27, in Florida. The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, and officers have reported dozens of deaths up to now. After raging by way of Florida’s coast, Helene moved up towards Georgia and the Carolinas. Atlanta, consequently, suffered a number of flooding, and components of Tennessee have skilled heavy rainfall.