Officials in Cocke County have urged all of downtown Newport to evacuate immediately as the Waterville Dam has “suffered a catastrophic failure” and the Pigeon and French Broad rivers are rising at rapid rates with rainfall after Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday night.
“EMERGENCY UPDATE. THE WATERVILLE DAM HAS SUFFERED A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. EVACUATION ALL OF DOWNTOWN NEWPORT IMMEDIATELY,” Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis wrote on Facebook just after 3 p.m.
Moments later Mathis posted the county had been placed under a state of emergency.
Several water rescues have taken place. The Newport Community Center at 433 Prospect Ave. is open for people who do not have a safe place to stay.
“All county and city emergency resources are currently fully engaged in water rescue and evacuation operations,” Mathis wrote in a Facebook post earlier in the afternoon. “We are still several hours from the expected high-water mark.
“If water is rising near you, PLEASE DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE WATER REACHES YOU. Make plans to escape BEFORE you need assistance.”
Rain has forced the closure of Interstate 40 East in Cocke County at exit 432 as high water from the Pigeon River threatens to overflow onto the interstate, said Tennessee Department of Transportation spokesperson Mark Nagi.
Parts of Hartford were underwater this afternoon, according to video posted by Nagi. The town sits along the bank of the Pigeon River.
Rivers reach, pass record highs
The Pigeon River at Newport rose to over three times its flood stage by 3 p.m. Friday afternoon, blowing past record levels when it reached over 26 feet high. The previous record was 23 feet, 4 inches.
Similarly, the French Broad at Newport was expected to reach more than double it’s flood stage by the end of the day. By 2:45 p.m. it had reached over 18 feet but was expected to reach 23 feet. The record for the river is 24 feet.
The water rushing into the French Broad River and Pigeon River causing catastrophic flooding in multiple counties along the Tennessee-North Carolina border is the result of runoff from the Smoky Mountains, TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said.
Inmates evacuated from county jail
Approximately 50-60 inmates have been relocated from the Cocke County Jail to the Jefferson County Jail due to the threat of high water, according to a representative from the Jefferson County Jail.
Flash flood warnings are still in place
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for Cocke and Sevier counties. The warning applies to Gatlinburg, Newport and Pigeon Forge. It is in effect until 6 p.m.
This flash flood warning comes in a series of emergencies around East Tennessee because of the heavy rainfall and rising waters. Other flash flood emergencies have been issued in Johnson and Unicoi counties, according to the National Weather Service.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Cocke County, Newport evacuations ordered after Tennessee dam failure
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