As Hurricane Helene brought historic flooding in late September, false reports swirled that Walters Dam had failed and worse ...

Officials in Cocke County urged all of downtown Newport to evacuate immediately just after 3 p.m. Sept. 27 following reports that a North Carolina dam had "suffered a catastrophic failure," though ...

The warnings quickly turned to rescue missions after Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis said that Walters Dam had failed. Later in the day, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency shared that they ...

As the rivers spilled over their banks, Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis posted a series of dire Facebook posts calling for the immediate evacuation of downtown Newport because of a dam’s ...

such as Cocke County, Unicoi County and Washington County. Dams downstream of these communities stored water and slowed its flow but could not prevent all flooding. Douglas Dam spilled up to ...

Cocke County EMA Director Joe Esway recalls taking the initial call. “I took the call. I hung up the call, and I looked at Mayor Mathis and said, ‘your honor, Walters Dam has suffered a ...

He has officially declared a State of Emergency for Cocke County. At 2:56 p.m., Mathis said that the Waterville Dam, also known as Walters Dam, suffered a catastrophic failure and ordered all of ...

By 4 p.m. Sept. 28, TVA announced the dam was "stable and secure." No TVA dams were at risk of failure Sept. 29, and flood waters have been receding. Cocke County officials feared Walters Dam − ...

Newport, Tennessee, is split by two rivers, the Pigeon and French Broad. On Sept. 27, they turned into pathways of destruction as the Southern Appalachians were drowned in rain from the remnants ...

NEWPORT, Tenn. (WATE) — It’s been just over two weeks since many parts of Cocke County were flooded as the remnants of Hurricane Helene moved across the Southeast. The damage still being assessed.