Rapid Site Report: Potential Impacts to Cultural Heritage Sites from Hurricane Helene, Western North Carolina, USA

Severe flooding occurred in western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene from 27-29 September 2024. Analysis conducted by the Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab at the Virginia Museum of Natural History (CHML) in collaboration with the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative (SCRI) identified 160 potentially impacted cultural heritage sites (red points). This analysis is based on open-source locational data for cultural heritage sites and the Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite data estimates of riverine inundation in western North Carolina as a result of heavy rains.

Location of potentially impacted cultural heritage sites available upon request.

Citation: Welsh, W., Bassett, H., Fitzgerald, K., Hanson, K., Maher, A., Carroll, C., Averyt, K. Gunter-Bassett, M., Daniels, B. I., and Wegener, C. (2024). “Potential Impacts to Cultural Heritage Sites from Hurricane Helene, Western North Carolina, USA.” Virginia Museum of Natural History, Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab; Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative. DOI: 10.25573/data.27558057.