CNN – A flash flood emergency issued for portions of Cocke, Greene, and Hamblen counties in eastern Tennessee has been extended until noon Eastern time
The emergency is for an imminent dam break on the Nolichucky River below the Nolichucky Dam and affects an area with more than 5,800 residents and two schools.
The National Weather Service says “dam operators reported the imminent failure of Nolichucky Dam” in the flood emergency report. Several rivers in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee have risen rapidly.
Even though the heaviest rainfall is over, an additional 1 to 2 inches should fall this weekend. River levels will take hours to days to recede back below critical levels.
If the dam fails, flooding can result in “an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the weather service said.
Storm-related deaths have been reported in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.
At least 19 are dead in South Carolina, including two firefighters in Saluda County, according to state officials. In Georgia, at least 15 people have died, two of them killed by a tornado in Alamo, according to a spokesperson for Gov. Brian Kemp. Florida officials reported eight deaths, including several people who drowned in Pinellas County.
Six more deaths were reported in North Carolina and they include a car wreck on a storm-slick road that killed a 4-year-old girl.
And in Craig County, Virginia, one person died in a storm-related tree fall and building collapse, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Friday.
Additional rainfall is expected this weekend across portions of the southern Appalachian region. Additional totals of up to 1 inch are expected for areas of western North Carolina, including Asheville, and eastern Tennessee, including Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
Up to 2 inches is possible for portions of Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania through Monday.
“Although rainfall amounts will be light, areas that received excessive rainfall from Helene may see isolated aggression of excessive runoff,” the National Weather Service office in Greenville-Spartanburg said Saturday morning.
Nearly 4,000 National Guardsmen were conducting rescue efforts in 21 counties across Florida, the Defense Department said Friday. North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama have also activated guardsmen.
The Biden administration has also mobilized more than 1,500 federal personnel to support communities affected by Helene, Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday.
Helene “is one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of North Carolina,” Gov. Roy Cooper said. Western parts of the state were slammed by heavy rains and strong winds bordering on hurricane-strength levels, life-threatening flash flooding, numerous landslides and power outages. More than 100 people were rescued from high waters, the governor said.
More than 2 feet of rain fell in the state’s mountainous region from Wednesday morning to Friday morning, with Busick recording a total of 29.58 inches in just 48 hours. In the hard-hit city of Asheville, a citywide curfew was in effect until 7:30 a.m. Saturday, officials said.
About 20 miles southwest of Asheville, overwhelming, torrential rainfall was pushing the Lake Lure Dam into “imminent failure,” according to the National Weather Service.
