What happens if Lake Lure Dam breaks?

A dam in North Carolina is in imminent danger of failing due to floodwaters driven by Hurricane Helene, local officials have claimed.

The National Weather Service has said life-threatening flash flooding of creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses are expected if the Lake Lure Dam breaks.

Additionally, there are possibilities of extensive flooding of homes and businesses, widespread road closures, and widespread life-threatening landslides across the mountains, according to the NWS.

In a Facebook post on Friday morning, the Rutherford County Emergency Management Department urged the nearby residents to immediately move to safety due to flash floods overtopping the Lake Lure Dam.

However, the state Department of Environmental Quality contradicted the message, telling the Associated Press that there was no indication that the dam was about to fail. The Independent was seeking clarification.

At least 37 people were killed in a number of states as of Friday morning after Hurricane Helene crashed into Florida at Category 4, pounding the west coast with “unsurvivable” conditions before weakening as it moved inland.

The Lure Dam was built in 1927 on the Broad River, about an hour’s drive east of Asheville and two hours west of Charlotte.

Lake Lure itself is renowned as a filming site for the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, which used the set location to represent upstate New York’s Catskill Mountains.