N.C. residents on high alert after dam threat

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mudslides and flooding crippled the North Carolina mountains and foothills Tuesday night, blocking roads, closing schools and prompting temporary evacuations around a dam that was believed in danger of collapse.

A landslide had compromised the integrity of Lake Tahoma Dam in McDowell County, the National Weather Service reported early Wednesday. Mandatory evacuations were underway at 2 a.m. around the dam.

However, McDowell County Emergency Management sent out a message shortly after 10 a.m. local time Wednesday noting an engineer had found the dam was still safe and the evacuation order was canceled.

“Please remain alert for additional updates, as additional rainfall is expected this afternoon,” said McDowell County EMS.

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality staff members were also inspecting two other dams in the area, North Fork near Montreat and the dam at Lake Lure. Preliminary information was that the owners of those dams were taking appropriate measures to prevent problems, DEQ spokeswoman Bridget Munger said.

Fears of a collapse at Lake Tahoma began around midnight, when witnesses reported water was spilling around the sides of Lake Tahoma dam. McDowell County Emergency Management sent out a tweet saying failure of the dam was “imminent.”

“Act now to preserve your life!” said two stern tweets issued by the National Weather Service early Wednesday. “This is a life-threatening situation.” Multiple water rescues have been reported in McDowell County, including two state Department of Transportation workers who had to be rescued after a dump truck responding to a mud slide was pushed off the road into the Catawba River. The pair climbed through a passenger window and stood on the side of the truck in the water until they were rescued, officials reported.

Between 6 and 8 inches of rain fell in some areas of the mountains over the past 24 hours, officials reported.

A U.S. Geological Survey automated rain gauge about two miles south of the Tahoma dam measured 3.88 inches of rain over the last 24 hours.

WSOC reported there were “several” landslides in McDowell County and that four swift water rescues were carried out overnight.

The National Weather Service tweeted early Wednesday that rainfall records were broken in some areas, including nearly 1.76 inches of rain that fell in 24 hours at the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport.