NC activates 175 soldiers, 16 water rescue teams ahead of ‘catastrophic flooding’ from Hurricane Helene

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Ahead of Hurricane Helene’s arrival in N.C., Governor Roy Cooper said the state is preparing for what will be an “unusually dangerous” storm.

In an 11 a.m. update Thursday, Cooper announced that 175 soldiers and airmen from the N.C. The National Guard has been activated. He also said swift water rescue and urban search and rescue teams from around the state have been deployed as Hurricane Helene is expected to bring more than a foot of rain to western North Carolina.

“This is an unusually dangerous storm that threatens to bring heavy rain and potentially catastrophic flooding tonight and tomorrow for Central and particularly western North Carolina. When tropical weather crosses into our mountains, it can be deadly,” said Governor Cooper Thursday. “Helene is forecast to bring more than a foot of rain to parts of western North Carolina, which will likely cause significant flash flooding, landslides, damaging debris flows and slope failures across steep terrain and river flooding. Even areas that don’t typically experience it may see flooding.”

In places like Asheville and Weaverville, the rain has already produced major flooding. In the below video sent in by a CBS 17 viewer, Maddy Dyer, you can see flood conditions along Weaverville Road by the Bellagio Bistro.

“Tropical weather in our mountains can be deadly,” Cooper said, warning everyone in the mountains and sandhills regions to be prepared and to not attempt to drive through floodwaters.

Head of the N.C. Department of Public Safety, Willam Ray, said the impacts from Hurricane Helene are already underway in the state. He said primary threats for North Carolina from Helene include rainfall, landslides, debris flows, river flooding and life-threatening flash flooding.

For those in the mountains, Ray said to be ready for “multiple rounds” of storms.

So far, 18 local states of emergency have been declared in addition to the statewide emergency declaration made Wednesday by Governor Cooper.

“Yesterday, the state of North Carolina requested an emergency declaration from FEMA to provide direct federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property. That request was approved this morning by the White House,” said Ray.

“As the governor said, North Carolina has begun to experience the impacts of Helene, which will continue into Saturday,” Ray continued. “You should see heavy rainfall, life-threatening flash flooding, and damaging landslides.”

In addition to having NCDOT and Duke Energy crews ready to roll to mitigate outages and road closures, Ray said the DPS is also monitoring dams across the state. This, he said, is in case there’s a situation where anyone in the way of a dam that fails can be notified immediately.

“We have thousands of crews kind of in Central North Carolina that are ready to go. The Triangle itself hosts hundreds of line workers that can be deployed from any portion of the area. And so, because we could see impacts pretty much anywhere, we do want to keep crews local that can respond, and then if we start to see that area isn’t impacted, we can adjust those resources,” said Jeff Brooks, spokesperson for Duke Energy.

Cooper said, “If you’re in an area that could likely be flooded, make a plan now to stay with friends or family.”

To check on road conditions and monitor river gauges throughout the threatening weather event, you can visit Drivenc.gov and FIMANNC.gov .

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