State of Emergency Declared for Western North Carolina

The heavy rains, flash flooding, and mudslides in western North Carolina have prompted a State of Emergency.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper declared the State of Emergency Wednesday to help coordinate storm response. Several inches of rain has fallen and more is in the forecast.

The persistent wet weather has saturated the ground and caused mudslides in multiple communities, some of which triggered evacuations Tuesday.

Related Story: Wilmington, NC breaks all-time May rainfall record

Officials are closely monitoring river levels and the stability of mountain slopes and dams.

North Carolina officials are watching the following lake dams most closely:

• Lake Lure
• Lake Tahoma
• Lake Tuxedo
• North Fork Lake

An additional one to two inches of rainfall is forecast for parts of the state through the end of the week.

You can stay up to date with the very latest about the flooding, evacuations, road closures, etc. by finding @NC Emergency Management on social media, going to www.readync.org or downloading the ReadyNC App.

For WeatherNation, Meteorologist Steve Glazier