AVL Flood -Final-Dbr

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AVL Flood -Final-Dbr • Several dozen lives lost • $21 million in damages ($500 million in today's dollars) • Railroad tracks damaged or destroyed • Dams destroyed, cutting off all hydroelectric power This catastrophic event reminds us of society’s vulnerability to • Severe flooding in Biltmore Village and on the natural hazards and of the interconnectedness of our towns Biltmore Estate with the surrounding environment. We cannot stop extreme • Warehouses, industrial plants, and homes along the French Broad flooded weather events, but we can make our communities more • Riverside Park washed away On September 17, 2004, Hurricane Ivan led to resilient to these events. flooding outside Biltmore Village July 15–17 Rainfall Totals July 16, 1916 French Broad River at Asheville Brevard: 14.70 inches 22.22 inches of rainfall at Altapass 8 a.m. 13.5 feet remains the state record for highest Morganton: 12.66 inches 9 a.m. 18.6 feet 10 a.m. Rain gauge washed away 24-hour precipitation total Hendersonville: 12.32 inches French Broad estimated crest: 23.1 feet Asheville: 2.98 inches Swannanoa River crest: 20.7 feet July 8–10, 1916 July 15–17, 1916 July 9 July 12–13 July 5–6 July 11 July 7–8 French Broad River at Asheville Storm strengthened to a July 14 July 15 First hurricane made landfall reached 4.8 feet, 0.8 feet above Second storm formed Storm moved east into Category 3 with 113-mph between Biloxi and Mobile, flood stage about 300 miles east of It weakened to It became a weak central Alabama winds Alabama, with winds of 118 mph the Bahamas 108 mph before extratropical low in Rain continued Rain began falling in It moved to just off the making landfall the Smoky Mountains It moved to north-central French Broad River at western North Carolina Atlantic coast at Charleston, near Charleston west of Asheville Mississippi while weakening Storm weakened and dissipated Asheville reached 8.8 feet South Carolina near Chattanooga, Tennessee JULY 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 First Storm /NOAANCEIclimate Second Storm /NOAANCEIocangeo /NOAANCEIclimate www.ncei.noaa.gov For more information on the 2016 flood and building resilient /NOAANCEIocngeo nemac.unca.edu www.facebook.com/uncanemac communities, scan the QR code with your portable device..
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