House swept away by Tropical Storm Helene flood waters

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — As now-Tropical Storm Helene continues to sweep through the Southeast and points north, Channel 2 Action News has obtained video of a whole house being swept away by flood waters.

Channel 2′s sister-station WSOC-TV had a crew in Asheville to cover the flooding there and captured the unbelievable video.

The storm is responsible for at least 15 deaths in Georgia alone and continues to pack a powerful punch as it continues North.

A mudslide and at least one lane of I-40 into the swollen Pigeon River at the North Carolina-Tennessee state line, caused the closing of the road in both directions, transportation officials said.

Crews have conducted 100 swift-water rescues as of Friday morning, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said, about half of them around Asheville.

“The priority now is saving lives,” Cooper said, adding that no one should be on the roads unless they were seeking higher ground.

Officials in Rutherford County were watching Lake Lure Dam because water overtopped it.

The lake, which feeds the Broad River, was created nearly 100 years ago. The dam is listed as 480 feet (146 meters) long and about 120 feet (36.6 meters) high.

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The dam is “doing what it’s supposed to do, but the water levels are just too high,” Russell said.

Downstream communities have been made aware of the overtopping but have been told they would have several hours to alert residents about evacuations if needed, Russell said. North Carolina and South Carolina state agencies also have received emergency action plans should conditions worsen.

The lake is famous for being the setting for some scenes in the 1987 film “Dirty Dancing.”

Several rivers were above or near record crests, and floodwaters were not expected to recede until at least Monday.

In Biltmore Village, just outside the famous Biltmore mansion, swiftly moving water from the overflowing Swannanoa River reached above the hoods of vehicles. It was a scene emergency officials expected in many other places, as all the rain has to flow downhill to the sea.

“It’s terrible. I don’t know if I will ever see anything like this again,” said Spencer Tate Andrews, who came down to the area to witness the flooding. “Glad I got to see it, but at the same time, it’s terrible and it’s going to affect a lot of people and businesses.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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