Several counties in western North Carolina are experiencing flooding caused by heavy rain from what was Helene.

A North Carolina dam failure is imminent after water levels at the Broad River rose 10 feet in only a few hours from Hurricane Helene.

Emergency crews and residents scrambled Friday morning as Helene — the hurricane downgraded to a tropical storm — threatened to overwhelm the Lake Lure dam in western North Carolina. A mandatory evacuation was ordered Friday morning, as local officials notified the National Weather Service that a dam failure was imminent.