Evacuation orders canceled in North Carolina after officials deem Lake Tahoma Dam safe
Heavy rainfall led to a landslide that compromised the Lake Tahoma Dam in western North Carolina early Wednesday morning.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for central McDowell County, including the town of Marion.
“This is an extremely dangerous situation,” the warning said. “To save your life, please heed all county evacuation notices and take action to leave the vicinity immediately!”
“Floodwaters have reached levels not seen since the September 2004 floods associated with Hurricanes Frances and Ivan,” the NWS said. “This is the most significant flooding McDowell County has seen since 2004.”
Areas downstream of Lake Tahoma Dam, including residences and businesses along U.S. 70 from Lake Tahoma Road to U.S. 221 Business near Garden Creek, were evacuated Wednesday morning.
Lake Tahoma has been inspected by an engineer and deemed safe. Evacuation order is now cancelled. Click for info. https://t.co/GgeAb80eAJ
— McDowell County EM (@mcdowell_em) May 30, 2018
The evacuations were initially recommended by the dam’s engineers, according to the McDowell County Emergency Management, who called the event a Class 1 emergency.
Residents are now permitted to return to their homes in McDowell County, but officials urge them to use caution.
The flooding is being blamed for a structure collapse in Marion shortly after 2:00 a.m. EDT Wednesday.
[MCDOWELL COUNTY MUDSLIDE]: Two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane of I-40 near Exit 66 in Old Fort are shut down. DOT doesn’t expect them to reopen until 1pm on *Friday. @wcnc #UpWithWCNC pic.twitter.com/7994dH6ZGJ
— Ariel Plasencia (@ariel_plasencia) May 30, 2018