(This story has been updated to add new information.)
Asheville, North Carolina – The Asheville Flood of 1916 brought unimaginable devastation to the small mountain town of western North Carolina. The disaster, described as “the worst natural disaster in Western North Carolina’s recorded history,” killed dozens of residents and completely destroyed roads and railroads.
That distant memory of horror was revived over the weekend as rain from Hurricane Helen flooded western North Carolina. The community on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains is left in ruins. Hundreds of people are missing, thousands are without power and many roads are impassable.
The “100-year flood” is due in part to a rare weather event, some adverse luck, and potential climate change, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported. There are only estimates of the extent of the destruction, and the full extent of Helen’s destruction is not expected to be known for some time, writes the Citizen Times.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said Helen was “one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of North Carolina.”
More than 100 years ago, the highest water level during the 1916 “Great Flood” was 21 feet, but that record was broken by Helen. Here’s how Asheville’s historic flooding compares to the devastation Helen caused in western North Carolina.
How did Asheville’s “Great Flood” of 1916 occur?
Weeks of continuous rain turned into what has been called “the worst natural disaster in Western North Carolina’s recorded history.” The devastating North Carolina flood of 1916 wreaked untold havoc on the region, killing dozens and destroying roads and railroads.
According to the National Weather Service, a storm made landfall in Alabama on July 5, 1916, dumping unrelenting torrential rain on the hills and mountains of North Carolina. The first storm did not cause flooding, but the ground was heavily saturated and waters were high.
Then a second storm hit.
On July 14th, a Category 2 hurricane made landfall on the coast of South Carolina, and on July 15th it reached the North Carolina Mountains. Record heavy rains occurred over a wide area. According to the report, 22.22 inches of rain fell in parts of western North Carolina from July 15th to 16th.
“The roaring water that followed wasn’t just ‘tall,’ it scraped the ground beneath the mountain railroad pass, dangling 20 to 60 feet in the air like a high-flying trapeze rig. leaving visible railroad tracks,โ the city of Asheville reported. .
Reports estimate that about 80 people died in the 1916 flood, but the number is estimated to be much higher. More than 20 people were killed when a bridge collapsed in Catawba, killing 14 railroad employees, four telegraph office workers, and six onlookers, according to the Statesville Record and Landmark.
The Newton Enterprise reported on July 25, 1916, “It was more than a torrential downpour across this mountain country. It was a night of storm and terror.”
Floods from Helen cause widespread destruction
By September 27, Helen had dumped about 14 inches of rain on cities along the Blue Ridge Mountains, including Asheville.
More than 2 feet of rainfall was reported in other parts of North Carolina, with Busick receiving about 31 inches by 8 a.m. on Sept. 28 and Spruce Pine receiving 24.12 inches.
Officials in North Carolina announced at least 77 confirmed deaths from the storm. Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, has reported 40 deaths, but more are expected.
USA TODAY reported that hundreds of homes and dozens of roads were damaged or destroyed in the flooding. Many areas in western North Carolina have no electricity or running water.
AccuWeather estimates the total damage and economic losses from Hurricane Helen to be between $225 billion and $250 billion. This includes destruction along the Florida coast and in the southeast.
According to a 1916 report in the Winston-Salem Journal, the flood caused millions of dollars worth of damage, with crop damage alone amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Winston-Salem Journal said of the Great Flood of 1916, “It can safely be said that never before has such damage been caused by a flood in the western half of North Carolina.” I wrote about it. There is no way a nation could suffer such damage. โ
More than 100 years later, western North Carolina remains devastated by one of the worst storms in history. Helen was the worst hurricane to hit the continental United States since Katrina in 2005.
Contributed by: Staff Report, Asheville Citizen Times