Flood Rips WNC; Five Dead

Flood Rips WNC; Five Dead

Front page article describes the flash floods that hit sunday morning. A mother and her two children were flung from their mobile home and drowned in the floodwaters. Two more drownings happened in Polk and Watauga Counties respectively. Many people were rescued from inside and on top of their mobile homes, houses, and cars. An expert states that the damage of this flood is worse than that of the 1973 flood, which he cites as costing $10 million. The Enka-Candler area was hit the hardest. 1,000 employees of the American Enka Corporation were evacuated when the floor of the plant was covered in 5' of water. A company representative states that several weeks will be required to repair the damage to the plant, and that the cost of the damage will likely run into the millions of dollars. WNC Pallet Company suffered similar damage, and timber stored at the company created a log jam after being washed away by floodwaters. Concrete block walls at the O.K. Tire Company were "ripped away" by flood waters. First responders and the National Guard were rescuing people all of Sunday night. The Silverline Plastics was damaged, and numerous pipes were seen floating in the French Broad. Water near the Reems Creek dam was swept out, and the remaining water was contaminated. This dam provides water to Woodfin. 14 bridges in this area alone were washed out, and the same happened to several other bridges across the county. Warehouse owners have been unable to check on their property, and it's expected that more damage reports will arrive once they regain access. All phone service was knocked out in Yancey County due to flood damages, and half of the phone service in Enka was knocked out. Water in Old Fort is reported to have been contaminated, and water trucks are coming from McDowell County to assist them. Water supplies in Buncombe County have been tentatively declared safe. Civil Air Patrol has agreed to provide air support if need be. Workers at a small telephone manufacturing plant were nearly swept away by a 5' tall wall of water when they went to close the gates to a dike intended to protect the plant. The log jam from WNC Pallet Company breaking is cited as the cause of the wave. Schools have been asked to close Monday in order to verify the integrity of the roads. The article is accompanied by a picture of twisted wreckage near Hominy Baptist Church Drive. A separte picture depicts the workers at the American Enka plant being rescued by boat. A third picture, taken by June Glenn Jr., depicts the log jam that caused the flooding of the telephone manufacturing plant.

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