The situation isn’t entirely clear at this time, but it appears that there is significant flooding in downtown McCaysville and that Highway 5 has been closed, along with Hwy 60 by the IGA.
The flooding is apparently not from the river, but from drainage problems created by the Hwy 5 construction project. Someone reported on Facebook that the river crested at 9 feet.
There was a boil water advisory, but early this morning the EMA requested that all users on the McCaysville water system stop using water due to critically low supplies.
This would include many rental cabins in the McCaysville area. If you are renting a cabin in the area, check your orientation materials and/or contact your cabin rental company to determine whether you are on the McCaysville system. You should definitely not drink the water without boiling, and not use any water for washing.
There was a strong thunderstorm in the area last night around 11:00 PM. This morning, there was almost 1-3/4 inches in my rain gauge, about two miles southeast of Mineral Bluff. I am assuming that this is what caused the flooding.
Here’s a chart from NOAA that confirms that the river crested at 9.09 feet, which it describes as “minor flooding.”