Massive floodwaters nearly caused a disaster along the Nolichucky River in Tennessee after Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc in several states.
Officials with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) feared the rising waters could result in an imminent failure of the Nolichucky Dam in Greeneville, Fox Weather reported on Saturday.
In an update early Saturday, TVA shared video footage of the massive amounts of water rushing over the dam.
“The Nolichucky River has crested, and the dam remains intact. Water is currently receding by approximately one foot per hour. Our Dam Safety teams are in the process of assessing the condition of the dam to determine next steps. We are estimating water levels reached 8 feet over the record elevation,” officials explained:
Authorities have begun urging residents who live downstream of the dam to evacuate after it sustained cracks as the area tries to recover from the heavy rainfall the hurricane brought, the Weather Channel reported on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned that if the dam failed to operate correctly, the water could reach all the way to West Allens Bridge Road in approximately 20 minutes, per the Fox article.
“The town of Erwin was also along the path of danger from the Nolichucky River. The town is already experiencing flooding from the record rains and was the site of a daring rescue of dozens of hospital staff and patients who spent hours on the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital after floodwaters surged into town,” the outlet said.
More video footage shows floodwaters after they washed away a section of a bridge in the area as cars waited on one side of it:
Greene County Chief Deputy David Beverly said, “We think for your safety it’d be better to evacuate and go to the shelters or if you have a place to go, if you live within a mile of the Nolichucky dam there on the actual highway or downriver of the dam.”