2 killed after house exploded from gas leak caused by landslide, NC police say
Two people died after a home collapsed in North Carolina because of flooding and mudslides, wbtv.com reported.
The Boone Police Department confirmed that two people were inside the Watauga County home that collapsed Wednesday in Boone, N.C., according to wspa.com.
The collapse, which rescuers responded to about 5 p.m., is believed to have been caused by the severe weather in the area, wcnc.com reported.
Police said the landslide caused a gas explosion that leveled the house, according to myfox8.com.
Four to 7 inches of rain fell in the 24-hour period ending Wednesday morning, adding to ground already saturated by two weeks of rain that totaled 10 to 20 inches in parts of the mountains.
The police reported that an Urban Search and Rescue team from Asheville has been helping first responders, according to wataugademocrat.com.
"People in North Carolina need to continue to take these conditions seriously, because they are proving deadly," Gov. Roy Cooper said at a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.
The governor declared a state of emergency for North Carolina's mountain counties Wednesday.
This story was originally published May 30, 2018 at 9:51 PM with the headline "2 killed after house exploded from gas leak caused by landslide, NC police say."