Hurricane Helene: Far-Reaching Impacts on North Carolina, Tennessee Rivers

By Larry Lempert

Hurricane Helene was a killer, with 226 lives lost across six states according to the latest report (Oct. 27) by the Washington Post. And the hurricane was a destroyer, with property losses from wind and flooding estimated to be between $30.5 billion and $47.5 billion across 16 states, according to insurance industry reports in October. The state hardest hit was North Carolina, where 102 people died as reported by the state's Health and Human Services Department. 

These impacts will weigh heavily on those who regard North Carolina and Tennessee as meccas of whitewater paddling. Some of these states' classic whitewater rivers were heavily affected by Helene and will be reminders for years to come of the lives lost and property damaged—although, ironically for paddlers and whitewater-dependent businesses, sometimes riverbed changes turn out to be a positive for paddling. We will also see cleanup and repair efforts for years to come and will be affected by the rebuilding of washed-out roads, bridges, and railroads.

For informative observations focused on rivers, river communities, and river-dependent businesses, see:

• Don’t Let Railroad Rebuild Destroy the Nolichucky Gorge, by Kevin Colburn, American Whitewater, Nov. 6—"In the remote Nolichucky Gorge the flood almost totally reorganized the rapids—but not in a bad way.… With this said, the disaster of riverbed mining and destruction could erase the river’s value in a matter of days or weeks, and it is utterly avoidable. If rapids and riverbanks continue to be mined the river will widen and be simpler and shallower." 
• American Whitewater Sues Agencies for Allowing Mining in Nolichucky River, by Kevin Colburn, American Whitewater, Nov. 18—"The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of American Rivers and American Whitewater, sued several federal agencies [on Nov. 18], saying the agencies violated federal law by allowing a rail company to mine the Nolichucky River in East Tennessee."
• Helene's damage to North Carolina's Green River affects businesses that depend on it, by Rolando Arrieta, NPR, Oct. 17—"Every whitewater kayaking guidebook is obsolete. All the rapids are different. They're going to have different names, different lines…. A couple of miles down the barely passable Green River Cove Road, this small community is littered with upturned vehicles, crumbled roofs and what's left of homes along the river banks." [Editor's note: NPR's Rolando Arrieta is CCA's safety chair.]
• Testing the Waters, The Safety Break podcast, Episode 16 (38 minutes)—Returning to the rivers of Western NC after Hurricane Helene.

And on the hurricane's impacts more generally:

• USGS experts responding simultaneously to two major natural hazards, USGS.gov, Oct. 8— While USGS experts are deploying wave sensors and forecasting coastal change in anticipation of Milton’s arrival, many of their agency colleagues have been hard at work mapping landslides, repairing and replacing damaged streamgages, and analyzing sensor data to provide the science information needed to help emergency responders and local officials with ongoing Helene recovery efforts.
• Duke Energy map shows how badly some areas of North Carolina were hit by Helene, WFMY News 2, Oct. 8—"Yellow areas on the map — such as Flat Rock and Hendersonville — represent complex repair zones. These, according to Duke Energy, are places that experienced 'extensive damage, including broken poles, downed lines, damaged transmission lines or road access issues.' Red areas — like Old Fort and Chimney Rock — are areas that experienced "significant damage and will require new poles, lines, electrical equipment, buildings and infrastructure."
• Hurricane Helene Recovery Recommendations: Preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment, NC Office of State Budget and Management, Oct. 23—"In addition to the devastating loss of life, the storm destroyed thousands of homes and damaged tens of thousands more. Millions of North Carolinians lost access to critical services like water and sewer, electricity, telecommunications, and healthcare facilities ….Thousands of miles of roads and bridges were damaged, cutting communities off and limiting egress for residents and entrance by essential response and recovery teams. The region’s economy has suffered a severe blow, threatening livelihoods and the long-term viability of communities."

On the American Whitewater website, Kevin Colburn, AW's national stewardship director, has posted this warning on some of the classic Tennessee and North Carolina river runs:

"WARNING: This run has been severely impacted by Hurricane Helene. Rapids are likely to have dramatically changed and access roads and parking are severely impacted or entirely gone."

Rivers to which this warning has been applied include the Nolichucky and Pigeon in Tennessee and the French Broad, Green, Rocky Broad, and Swannanoa in North Carolina.

With respect to those rivers, CCA member Ron Ray, who now lives near Bryson City, NC, has been following updates and YouTube videos, and offers these observations:

The big damage is in the east- and north-flowing valleys of the eastern Blue Ridge. Anything west of the Pigeon escaped big damage. More and more YouTubes are showing up of the harder runs post-Helene. 

Nolichucky: Post-flood YouTube shows a river with scoured banks, major changes, and huge amounts of railroad debris. The steel spans of the railroad bridge near the put-in are scattered in the river for several hundred yards downstream, and large sections of track are in the river in several places. Railroad reconstruction may generate even more changes and debris. Expect major damage with respect to access points and shuttle roads.

Pigeon: Massive, roaring water scoured way up the banks and washed out a lot of I-40. The put-in for the Class III Gorge at Waterville (Walters) Powerplant took major damage, and it's unknown whether I-40 and the local roads allow access to the put-in and take-out. There is no hard information yet, but expect the takeout parking and surrounding outfitter facilities to have taken damage. YouTube video shows a lot of gabion wire mesh in the Dries, so the gorge may have it also. And we don't know what the highway reconstruction will do to the riverbed. There is potential for major changes to this run.

(For those who might get their states and rivers confused, the Class III Pigeon Gorge starts at the Waterville Powerplant on the TN/NC state line and continues to the outfitter complexes in Hartford, TN. This section is sometimes called the "Upper." The power plant is on the NC side of the line, and where the ramps and most of the parking used to be are on the TN side. The Class II Lower Pigeon starts at the Gorge takeout in Hartford, and continues downstream to a county park near Greasy Cove (Crosby), TN. The rarely-paddled Class V Pigeon Dries start at Walters Dam in NC (or as close as access allows) and continue to the Gorge put-in. There are more obscure, mellower whitewater sections upstream of the dam, near Waynesville, NC, plus steep headwaters. Most CCA folks who have paddled the Pigeon as a North Carolina Week of Rivers trip have paddled the Class III Gorge, and a few have done the Class II Lower section immediately downstream.)

French Broad: Don't expect structural damage to the riverbed like what occurred in the Nolichucky, Pigeon, and Green, but do expect a huge amount of industrial and urban debris downstream of Asheville. Accesses may be closed for a while.

Green: Massive flooding, debris, and scour occurred. The Narrows changed significantly. Some rapids are flat-out gone, others massively changed. Some slower sections turned into debris plains, braided "hells" of trashy cobble and wood. The Lower Green probably changed significantly and has lots of wood, and there will be access and shuttle issues. 

Rocky Broad: The III/IV/V sections above Lake Lure had massive scour, damage, and washouts. Access into the valley is totally gone, and temporary roads have been bulldozed across multiple washouts. When recreational access becomes plausible, expect a whole new river. 

Swannanoa: Expect huge amounts of debris.

Meanwhile, the Little Tennessee, Nantahala, and Tuckasegee in North Carolina and the Hiawassee, Ocoee, Tellico, and Little Pigeon in Tennessee had minimal issues. YouTube suggests changes on the Watauga (NC) but broadly similar paddling overall; specific lines have changed in some places. 

Two major highways suffered significant damage, greatly affecting travel to and within the area. I-26 was severed at the Nolichucky bridges in Erwin, TN, just north of the NC-TN line. The Tennessee Department of Transportation reported Nov. 1 that the highway had reopened with reduced speeds and/or lanes. I-40 through the Pigeon Gorge in North Carolina and Tennessee had multiple, major washouts. NCDOT announced Nov. 5 that it had a target date of Jan. 1, 2025, for opening one lane in each direction at reduced speeds, affecting a 9-mile stretch of the gorge in Tennessee and North Carolina. "The Pigeon River washed away the interstate’s eastbound lanes in four long swaths during the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene," NCDOT said, adding that the current configuration would allow "enough room to safely complete long-term repairs over the coming years." 

Ron suspects that these routes will suffer major traffic delays until they are fully repaired. I-40 was a heavily traveled truck route between Asheville and Knoxville, and the alternatives for trucks are poor—poor to the point that many truckers are likely to opt for sitting in traffic jams on partially repaired roads to avoid extra miles and/or slow, twisty roads. Since Helene, US 441 through Great Smoky Mountains National Park between Cherokee, NC, and Gatlinburg, TN, has picked up a lot of car traffic. US 129 ("Tail of the Dragon") likely has similar car traffic increases. US 74 through the Ocoee and Nantahala Gorges has picked up much more truck traffic. Expect slow traffic and oncoming traffic encroaching into your lane on curves. I-77 between I-81 near Fort Chiswell, VA, and I-40 at Statesville, NC, has picked up quite a bit of truck traffic but is still a good option.