BOONE—“Come Hell or High Water, Remembering the Flood of 1916,” directed by documentary filmmaker David Weintraub, will have its Boone premiere on Wednesday, Oct. 19, in the I.G. Greer Auditorium on the Appalachian State University campus. Admission is free, and the public is welcome.

The film explores the history of Western North Carolina’s worst natural disaster. One hundred years ago this past July, 22 inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period, raising the French Broad River 17 feet above flood stage and causing extensive flooding throughout the western part of the state. The film poses the question, “Is the region prepared for the next flood?”

Weintraub, who will facilitate a discussion about the film, said, “The documentary looks back and looks forward – and warns that we’ve learned no lessons from the 1916 flood and other big storms.”

Jennie Jones Giles, an Asheville historian and seventh generation native, said: “Remembering the 1916 flood is important because the consequences to Western North Carolina should this happen again would impact us 10-20 times greater than it did then. The lessons the flood could teach us could save our lives and better protect our community.”

The program is co-sponsored by Appalachian’s Documentary Film Services and College of Arts and Sciences, the Center for Cultural Preservation and N.C. Humanities Council.

About University Documentary Film Services

The University Documentary Film Services program teaches, engages in and presents documentary work grounded in collaborative local and global partnerships that use photography, film/video, audio and narrative writing to capture and convey memory, life, research, theory and culture.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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