ASHEVILLE – Over the next 48 hours, 15,000 homes in Buncombe County alone are expected to be impacted by flooding resulting from Hurricane Helene and the heavy rainstorm that preceded it, Buncombe County officials said during a Sept. 26 joint emergency response update with Henderson County officials. The National Weather Service and local authorities expect the region could experience floods that “rival or surpass” the floods of 1916, setting the region up for a historic period of severe weather.
The county has already asked residents, businesses and visitors in Biltmore Village and Fletcher to self-evacuate. Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder suggested that all people who know they are within a flood-prone area should “take action.” Helene is expected to hit Asheville this evening, Thursday, Sept. 26, and will likely have cleared out by Friday night, Sept. 27, the Citizen Times reported.
“If you live in a flood prone area — even if we didn’t mention it — you should take action now. Right now,” Pinder said. The county currently provides two shelters: one at First Baptist Church Swannanoa and another at Trinity Baptist Church…