North Carolina: Helene causes historic flooding [Video]

Tropical Storm Helene caused historic flooding in western North Carolina, devastating communities and breaking records.”I knew when a wall of water rose 3 feet in 10 minutes it was time to go,” said Michael Harrin, a resident of Swannanoa.Harrin lives in the Black Mountains near Swannanoa and had heard of the great North Carolina floods of 1916 and 1940, but this one was worse.”This is the worst event in the modern era for our office,” said Trisha Palmer, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Greenville, South Carolina.Palmer worked the storm and noted the unprecedented nature of the flooding.”We broke all-time records on our stream gauges in the western North Carolina mountains,” Palmer said.Harrin described the impact on his home.”The other six floods that have happened have come to the bottom of my foundation, never in the house,” Harrin said.Harrin had to act quickly to protect his …