CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for residents on Mountain Island Lake due to potentially historic flooding from Helene.
The Charlotte Fire Department announced mandatory evacuations for the areas of Riverside Drive, Lake Drive, Riverhaven Drive and parts of Beaglue Club Road and Hart Road near Mountain Island Lake. Floodwaters are rising as heavy rain moves into the Charlotte region.
A shelter is open at 4820 Tuckaseegee Road in Charlotte.
WCNC Charlotte's Richard DeVayne saw a water rescue along Riverside Drive, just off Mount Holly-Huntersville Road, early Friday. That area is prone to flooding during heavy rain. This happened after several residents moved their vehicles to higher ground before the storm arrived.
A National Guard truck coming down the road got stuck in a culvert. Charlotte Fire's water rescue team had to free the people who were trapped inside the truck.
Bobby Graham, a division chief with the Charlotte Fire Department, said the agency had concerns for residents in western Mecklenburg County ahead of the storm. Graham said the concern was even greater for people near Mountain Island Lake and the Catawba River.
"Residents particularly around Mountain Island Lake," he said, "and along Lake Norman, (Lake) Wylie and the Catawba River should prepare now, because we are going to have to issue volunteer evacuation orders."
For perspective, Mountain Island Lake is normally 96 feet in elevation with a maximum of 100 feet. As of 5 a.m. Friday, meteorologist Chris Mulcahy said the lake was forecast to reach 110 feet, which would be a new record. The Catawba River has already reached 103.15 feet at the Mountain Island Dam, which is the sixth-highest level.
Mulcahy said this is alarming because Helene's heaviest rain hasn't arrived yet.
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