North Carolina floods: Failure of Lake Lure Dam is imminent, officials say

As Helene weakens, the now-tropical storm’s strong winds and heavy rain continue to wreak havoc across the Southeast U.S., including in North Carolina where at least one county has ordered evacuations.

Rutherford County’s Emergency Management ordered residents who live on certain roads to evacuate to higher areas due to water overtopping the Lake Lure Dam, according to a Facebook post shared by the government office Friday morning.

Emergency officials warned in an 11 a.m. ET Facebook post that failure of Lake Lure Dam was “imminent.”

That update came after the Rutherford County Emergency Management reported “catastrophic flows along the Broad River into Lake Lure” were overtopping the dam, resulting in major flooding downstream, per the National Weather Service (NWS).

Officials released a list of roads on which residents are ordered to evacuate. You can view the list on the Rutherford County Emergency Management Facebook page.

The dam is roughly 30 miles southeast of Asheville.

Flood warnings issued

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

A 4-year-old was killed and others were injured in a wreck in Catawba County on Thursday that occurred as Helene’s outer bands were slamming the state. In Charlotte, a 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 death,” Capt. John Lipcsak, a spokesperson for the fire department, told USA TODAY.

‘Catastrophic, life-threatening flooding’ predicted in Western North Carolina

The NWS previously told the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the outer rain band of Hurricane Helene would likely arrive in Western North Carolina on Thursday and bring six to 10 inches of additional rain and high winds.

Before the powerful storm made landfall, NWS Meteorologist Clay Chaney said residents in the region should not underestimate how severe its conditions could be, including potential “catastrophic, life-threatening flooding.”