Weather & Science
American Dams Weren’t Built for Today’s Climate-Charged Rain and Floods
Hurricane Helene brought dams in North Carolina and Tennessee close to their breaking point. Many US dams are decades old and weren’t designed for the impacts of climate change.
The Nolichucky Dam in Greene County, Tennessee, following Hurricane Helene on Sept. 28.
Photographer: George Walker IV/AP Photo
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As flooding hammered Appalachia in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, residents became intimately familiar with a new norm in the US’s post-storm script: dams at imminent risk of failing.
Officials last week said multiple dams were on the brink, including Tennessee’s Nolichucky Dam and North Carolina’s Walters and Lake Lure dams. People in nearby communities were ordered to evacuate.