/ / /

Composite imagery from satellites show Hurricane Helene in the Gulf of Mexico as it approaches the Florida's coastline on Sept. 26, 2024 (Courtesy NOAA imagery) — Hurricane Helene Response

Georgia Response

North Carolina Response

Tennessee Response

Florida Response

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and contractors (contracted through FEMA) corralled debris into a centralized location in preparation for debris removal by crane.

Cara Brown (Left) and Mark Veasey survey Hurricane Helene flood impacts Oct. 11, 2024, in Newport, Tennessee. By collecting accurate measurements of flood levels and their impact, the Corps of Engineers is building a foundation for more effective planning and response to future weather events. (USACE Photo by Michael Krneta)

Cara Brown and Mark Veasey survey Hurricane Helene flood impacts Oct. 12, 2024, at Nolichucky Dam in Greeneville, Tennessee. By collecting accurate measurements of flood levels and their impact, the Corps of Engineers is building a foundation for more effective planning and response to future weather events. (USACE Photo by Michael Krneta)

Sidney Riddle (Left) takes a photo as Alex Fenili measures a high-water mark Oct. 16, 2024, in Chuckey, Tennessee By collecting accurate measurements of Hurricane Helene flood levels and their impact, the Corps of Engineers is building a foundation for more effective planning and response to future weather events. (USACE Photo by Rebecca Midkiff)

Temporary Emergency Power Team responds to Hurricane Helene

Two soldiers and two men in safety gear stand along side a river bed that has debris strewn along it.

A woman talks with two other women in front of a Red Cross Truck.

A woman stands in front a large pile of yellow conduit and a green bucket loader. She is writing on a pad.

A man stands looking at equipment that is part of a water treatment plant

a Soldier and a USACE employee stand next to a river with a bridge in the background. The USACE employee has a pad of paper in his hand and is writing on it.

A man in a hard hat and reflective vests looks at a damaged electrical panel.

Two men stand on a walkway above wastewater holding tanks filled with brown water and woody debris.

Two men wearing hard hats and safety vests stand above a wastewater treatment container that is full of brown water.

Two men in protective gear look at debris piled along the side of the roadway.

A man in protective gear stands on the side of the road looking at a large amount debris piled along the side of it.

Four men are seated around a small table as they discuss the status of response efforts for Hurricane Helene.

Two men stand on a wooden dock looking over a lake filled with debris.

Three men stand in front of a fire station. One is looking at paperwork while the other two are looking off into the distance.

Two men look at an electrical opened electrical box. The men are wearing hard hats and reflective vests

A man stands on a bridge looking over the river and the debris piled on either side.

Two men stand looking at large debris piles.

Three men inspect a large generator at night.

A USACE Employee stands in the center of an intersection Debris is surrounding him.

Vernon Griffin with the Galveston District safety and occupational health office and Chris Sibert with the Honolulu District serving as quality assurance for the temporary emergency power team works with contractors during a installation of two generators for the City of Henderson Hendersonville Wastewater Treatment Facility in Hendersonville, North Carolina, Oct. 4, 2024. USACE continues to work in partnership with local, state, and federal agencies to support Hurricane Helene response efforts. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers video by Charles Delano)

An Army Soldier points to a map of North Carolina

Two Soldiers stand next to each other while talking to a USACE employee.

a group of individuals stand near each other as they talk.

A man stands on a road taking picture of a tree down along the side of the roadway.

A man sits in the back of a small airplane looking out the window at the land below

Three men talk at a table, one man is standing, while the other two are sitting.

A USACE Employee wearing a red shirt and hat, looks out the window of a small plane as it flies over portions of South Carolina.

A group of Soldiers and emergency management officials talk in a group in front of a lake where boats and debris are sitting along the shoreline.

Two Soldiers in reflective vests and hard hats stand next to a boat ramp where debris can be seen floating in the water.

A group of individuals walk along a roadway talking.

Lt. Col. Robert Green, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Commander and Thomas Herbert, USACE Nashville District Project Manager, engaged with the Unicoi County, Tennessee Emergency Management Director Jimmy Erwin and a Tennessee Emergency Management Agency representative, Oct. 1. The county suffered major damage to infrastructure, homes and facilities due to heavy rain and flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.

A USACE employee stands on a road that has been impacted by a landslide. The man's back is to the camera as he takes pictures of the damage.

Two soldiers stand next to a large vehicle. The soldiers are wearing hard hats and safety vests over the camouflage uniforms.

A USACE Employee stands in the middle of a road that had been flooded. The man is taking pictures with a cell phone camera of the area.

A USACE Employee in a safety vest stands on the edge of a creek bed filled with debris from recent flooding.

A group of USACE employees walk towards a set of Generators which are prepared for deployment to areas in North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene

Two USACE Employees look at a group of generators that are positioned to be deployed to areas hit by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.

individuals seated in a large conference room look at large screens on the wall displaying the state of Florida and status information for different aspects of the pending storm impacts on USACE projects.

COL Bowman coordinating with local officials after Hurricane Helene

USACE Coordinating with local residents after Hurricane Helene.

USACE Coordinating with local agencies after Hurricane Helene.

Hurricane Helene Flood Data Collection

Nashville District

Published Aug. 7, 2025

Updated: Aug. 8, 2025

PRINT | E-MAIL

Overview of Hurricane Helene

In late September 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm before weakening as it moved inland. As the remnants tracked into the Southern Appalachia region, the system produced record-breaking rainfall and catastrophic flooding in eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and southern Virginia.

Mountainous terrain and already saturated soils amplified the flash flooding, leading to washed-out roads, damaged bridges, power outages, and widespread property and life loss. The storm’s rainfall totals exceeded historical records in several locations, with some rivers cresting far above their previous highs.

USACE Flood Data Collection Mission

Following the storm, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) carried out a high-water mark (HWM) survey to capture precise flood information for post-event analysis.

Survey Summary:

Area Covered: 19 counties across 3 states (East Tennessee, West North Carolina, South Virginia)
Scope: 2,587 high-water marks documented across 115 streams
Purpose: Document peak flood levels for the Hurricane Helene flood event, to support future flood risk management, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, emergency response planning, and public awareness.
Time Period of Collection: October 9 – November 23, 2024

What Is High-Water Mark Collection?

High-water marks are visible indicators, such as seed lines, debris lines, or water stains, left on surfaces that show the highest point reached by floodwaters.

Collection Process:

Identified high-water marks in flood-affected areas
Photographed each mark for visual documentation
Recorded notes on the surface type, quality, and surrounding context
Surveyed each point using GPS and elevation equipment
Logged the data for processing, quality control review, and mapping

How the Data Was Used

The Hurricane Helene high-water mark dataset supports:

Flood Model Calibration – Improving accuracy of hydraulic and hydrologic models
Flood Risk Mapping – Updating flood maps and hazard assessments
Infrastructure Planning – Informing bridge, road, and critical infrastructure design
Emergency Management – Enhancing evacuation routes and disaster response plans
Historical Recordkeeping – Preserving data for long-term scientific and planning use

Where to View and Download the Data

The Hurricane Helene high-water mark dataset, along with comprehensive documentation of the storm and survey, has been made available for public and interagency use.

Available resources include:

Post-Flood Report – Summarizing the storm impacts, survey methods, results, and applications
GIS & Microsoft Excel Data Files – Downloadable formats for analysis and mapping
Interactive Map Viewer – Explore HWM locations, elevations, and descriptions online
Supporting Documents & Forms – ReadMe files, Metadata, and reference guides for interpreting the dataset

Access the Data & Resources:

Data is publicly available and can be used for non-commercial and governmental applications. The dataset is provided “as-is” with no warranties. Users should verify the accuracy of the data before applying it to decision-making processes.

SLIDESHOW | 10 images | USACE team documenting Hurricane Helene flood data shifts focus to North Carolina Trevor Groce measures a high-water mark Nov. 13, 2024, on a building along the North Toe River in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. By collecting accurate measurements of Hurricane Helene flood levels and their impact, the Corps of Engineers is building a foundation for more effective planning and response to future weather events. (USACE Photo by Anderson Schmittou)

Photo Gallery & Related News

Contact

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District
Nashville.WaterResources@usace.army.mil

Hurricane Helene

Federal Emergency Management Response Site

FEMA Rumor and Response
Learn how the U.S. government is responding to Hurricane Helene.

Click the link to learn more about Georgia Helene Debris Mission.

Contractor Information

Contractors, please go to our Capabilities Submission Page to inform USACE about the capabilities you could bring to the disaster response efforts. Also, please refer to our Contracting in a Disaster Page for further information on how to be a part of the response efforts.

Businesses and individual contractors interested in doing business with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should take the first step of registering with the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://sam.gov/SAM/pages/public/index.jsf
The SAM.gov solicitation and contract award system is used by the Corps and many, many other federal agencies for publishing solicitations and awarding contracts. The Corps draws on the pool of SAM.gov registered businesses to award the contracts necessary to accomplish its missions, including post-storm restoration work.
Small businesses may be particularly interested in contracting opportunities available through the HQ USACE Small Business Office. Information and points of contact may be found at https://www.usace.army.mil/Business-With-Us/Small-Business/. Subcontracting opportunities usually result through partnerships with larger companies. Firms interested in pursuing such possibilities can find information from the U.S. Small Business Association at https://www.sba.gov.