Thousands of Cocke County residents were abruptly evacuated this afternoon in response to a breach at the Waterville Dam in Clyde, North Carolina following rapid rainfall which was ushered in by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. The National Weather Service in Morristown reported that the Pigeon River, which flows through the county, saw record-breaking water levels of 28 feet.
City and county officials ordered the emergency evacuation of Newport and surrounding areas at around 3:00pm EST after reports came in of an alleged “catastrophic failure” at the Waterville Dam, which is owned and operated by Duke Energy in North Carolina.
Police, firefighters, water rescue teams and helicopters were seen rushing to people impacted by high levels of water. Emergency personnel reported that some residents were trapped in their homes as water rapidly rose throughout Newport.
Major roads and highways throughout the area became congested soon after the evacuation order was given in Newport. Residential streets and country roads were quickly closed off by police due to flooding.
County and city officers worked to direct hundreds of cars out of the area, after they had been funneled into Newport earlier in the day due to I-40 east and westbound closures across the Tennessee/North Carolina state line.
NWS Morristown forecaster Andrew Moulton told WUOT News that all roads across the state line should be considered effectively closed due to extreme floodwaters.
“The rivers are so swollen,” Moulton said. “It’s going to take a long time for this [water] to get out of here. The French Broad and Pigeon Rivers are seeing river levels higher than they’ve ever been recorded, going back to the 1800s.”
The town of Hartford, situated 14 miles south of Newport, had been evacuated earlier in the day due to surging flood waters near rivers and creeks which had reached over 20 feet early Friday morning.
In response to today and yesterday’s weather Tennessee Governor Bill Lee declared a state of emergency. He also requested a Major Disaster Declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide aid to counties impacted by the rainfall and flash flooding.
Jessica Fraizer, a Cocke County resident, received a notification warning her to return home this morning amid rapidly rising waters. She lives just yards away from the Pigeon River.
“When I got home, not even 30 minutes later, the river had started cresting,” she said.
Frazier witnessed her neighbor’s house go under water.
“They have lost two vehicles," she said. “The propane tank had actually up and left and it went up in a big smoke. [The neighbors] were able to get out.”
WUOT News witnessed Levi Webb, one of the neighbors whose house flooded, return to rescue his animals after evacuating to a nearby hotel.
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency later reported that the Waterville Dam was not in danger of imminent failure, but had experienced a breach, meaning water was running over the top of the dam. Evacuations of Newport, Hartford and surrounding areas remain in effect.
WUOT News reporter Jon Knowles contributed to this story.