News

'We’re seeing areas flood we’ve never seen flood before'

By Bill Moss, Published: September 26, 2024

Comparing Hurricane Helene to the catastrophic flood of 1916, Buncombe and Henderson county emergency managers and leaders urged people along rivers to leave their homes before historic flooding arrives in the coming days.

After a prestorm deluge dumped up to 16 inches of rain on the area, Helene is expected to bring driving rain plus wind gusts of up to 65 mph, posing the likelihood of widespread power outages.

Officials from both counties urged people in the Swannanoa and French Broad River valleys, in Fletcher and in Biltmore Village to evacuate.

“Buncombe County has received about 9 inches of rain so far, and the French Broad river is at moderate flood stage up in Blantyre and up in Transylvania County, and now we're at minor level down in Asheville," said Ryan Cole, Buncombe's assistant emergency management director. "The Swannanoa River is not at flood stage. However, we anticipate both of these to exceed flood stage and be at record levels during this event before it is over. That is very important for people to realize that they're going to be at record levels that we have never seen before, similar to the 1916 flood. All of our water levels are forecasted to rise, and we're urging residents, businesses and visitors to self-evacuate, especially if you're in the Biltmore Village area, the Fletcher area (along the French Broad) and anywhere along the French Broad River Valley and Swannanoa River Valley. This is not going to crest until Saturday and it could sustain for much longer than that.”

“Everything that we have received so far was another system that has brought significant rainfall," Cole added. "With Helene coming in this evening, we will be getting an additional 3 to 6 inches and significant winds up to 64 mph gusts that's going to come through."

Buncombe's rainfall total was nowhere near the highest. WLOS reported these rainfall totals as of 4 p.m.: Connestee Falls, 15.5 inches; Saluda, 15.2 inches; Mountain Home, 11.6 inches; AVL, 8.6 inches. Nor was the forecast of 3-6 inches as high as southern Henderson County will see. There, we could see 7-10 inches before Helene clears out.

Henderson County Manager John Mitchell, Board of Commissioners Chair Rebecca McCall, Emergency Management Director Jimmy Brissie and Chris Burns, the district director for U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, joined the news conference.

“What's of particular concern, just like Buncombe County shared, is the French Broad River Valley and those tributaries feed up to it," Brissie said. "So just because you don't live along the French Broad doesn't mean that you're not going to see impacts from those high water levels — Cane Creek and Mud Creek will see some backwater effect just due to the amount of water in the French Broad. ... We’re seeing areas flood we’ve never seen flood before. A lot of folks may have lived through Francis and Ivan in 2004. We're seeing floodwaters exceed those levels. So just because you've never flooded before doesn't mean you can tune out and not pay attention to your surroundings. We need everyone to be aware of what's happening in their backyard.”

"The best thing you can do as residents is prepare to self-evacuate," he emphasized in a wrapup. "Make your plans and get those plans in motion to stay some place safe for the next few days until those waters recede. I can't emphasize enough: Now is the time to plan for your evacuation if you're around one of these impacted areas."

Cole, the Buncombe emergency manager, said: “Nobody has seen a 500-year flood in this area, and they are referring back to 1916 whenever it took many lives and destroyed many homes."

Please do not call 911 to ask about weather conditions, road conditions or report power outages. The non-emergency number to call in Henderson County for information is 828-771-6670.

EDITOR'S NOTE: As Helene churns toward the N.C. mountains, the Lightning will report event cancellations, closings, road conditions and other news. Storm coverage remains in front of the website paywall, available to all.