Charlotte, with a precipitation of only five inches in the 24-hour period, came off lightly compared with other sections of the state. The storm was centered in the vicinity of Asheville where rainfall exceeded all past records and the damage was tremendous. At nearby Altapass the maximum rainfall of 22.22 inches was the highest 24-hour precipitation ever recorded in the United States. The Catawba River, rising in Western North Carolina, was the chief outlet for this deluge. As a result the principal damage in Mecklenburg County was confined to the Catawba River, where all bridges of the river were destroyed as was much adjacent property. Total overall property damage of the flood was estimated at $21,724,085. Best estimates place the loss of life at about 80. Details of this catastrophe are contained in three books: Bell, W. M., The North Carolina Flood; Southern Railway, The Floods of July 1916; and Greene, Ivery C., A Disasterous Flood.