Editor’s note: During the holidays, Carolina Public Press will be reposting some of our most memorable stories from 2025. Today’s story looks at the hard lessons learned about dams and flooding during Tropical Storm Helene. This article, part of the Pulitzer Center-funded project Restraining Rivers, originally appeared on June 2.
Tropical Storm Helene underscored the dangers of aging dams and flood-control infrastructure in Western North Carolina.
Leading up to the storm, some signs already indicated that something more needed to be done should a natural disaster strike…