Record river crests, rescues and an emergency evacuation marked one of the most devastating floods in Cocke County history.
NEWPORT, Tenn. (Smokies.LIVE Information Center) — Two years after Hurricane Helene brought catastrophic flooding to Cocke County, the record-setting river levels and emergency rescues remain a defining part of the storm’s history in East Tennessee.
On Sept. 27, 2024, torrential rainfall from Helene sent the Pigeon and French Broad rivers to levels not seen in generations, triggering widespread flooding, emergency rescues and evacuations across the county.
The Pigeon River crested at 29.73 feet, according to the flood data provided for the event. That was roughly 6 feet higher than the previous record set in 1902. Some alternate local measurements placed the crest at about 29.37 feet.
The French Broad River reached 23.34 feet, marking its largest flood since 1867.
The rising water left dozens of residents stranded at homes, trailers and makeshift islands. Multiple local and state agencies responded, using boats and aircraft to reach people where debris and flood conditions allowed.
Two people in Cocke County died as a direct result of the Helene floodwaters.
The flooding also prompted a mandatory evacuation of downtown Newport after officials initially feared a catastrophic failure at Walters Dam in Waterville, North Carolina.
The dam ultimately did not fail, but the evacuation order remained in place as a precaution intended to prevent a potential mass-casualty event.
Documenting the flood
In the months after Helene, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted a major high-water mark survey to document the extent of the flooding.
The survey covered 19 counties across three states, including East Tennessee, western North Carolina and southern Virginia.
Between Oct. 9 and Nov. 23, 2024, crews documented 2,587 high-water marks across 115 streams.
The goal was to establish precise information about the peak water levels reached during the Helene flood.
That information can be used for future flood-risk management, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, emergency response planning and public awareness.
A lasting mark
Two years later, the numbers help tell the story of how extraordinary Helene’s flooding was in Cocke County.
A river that exceeded a century-old record by roughly 6 feet. A French Broad River crest that represented its largest flood in more than 150 years. Dozens of emergency rescues. Two deaths. And an evacuation of downtown Newport prompted by fears of a catastrophic dam failure.
The high-water marks documented after the storm provide a permanent record of just how high the water reached.
For Cocke County, Sept. 27, 2024, remains a date measured not only in feet and inches, but in the lives disrupted and the communities forced to respond to a historic flood.
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