Mudslide Collapses Watauga County, North Carolina, Home as Deadly Subtropical Storm Alberto Heads Inland

Emergency crews raced to the scene in Watauga County after receiving the call about the incident shortly after 5 p.m., WCNC.com reports. It was not immediately reported if there were any deaths or injuries.

The landslide struck in the Heavenly Mountain subdivision's Pine Ridge Road on the 200 block, according to WSOCTV.com

At least two are dead and numerous mudslides were reported in North Carolina as Alberto moved through the Deep South, battering the region with flash flooding and severe weather conditions.

Heavy rainfall triggered multiple landslides and caused waterways to swell across the Tar Heel State's Blue Ridge Mountains Tuesday, the National Weather Service reports. Monday local emergency officials warned the threat could persist through at least Wednesday.

(MORE: What Remains of Alberto)

A news anchor and photojournalist covering Alberto were killed Monday when a tree collapsed on top of their vehicle, authorities said.

WYFF-TV's Mike McCormick and Aaron Smeltzer were reporting on the rain's impact in Polk County, North Carolina, when the incident occurred on Highway 176, the station reported. McCormick joined the news outlet as a reporter in April 2007 and became an anchor in 2017, while Smeltzer shot news for the outlet's Spartanburg bureau for over a decade. 

The duo had just finished interviewing Tryon Fire Chief Geoffrey Tennant, who urged them to be careful with the remnant weather of the storm, according to the Associated Press.

"Ten minutes later we get the call and it was them," Tennant told reporters in an emotional announcement.

Four days ahead of the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season, Alberto announced itself with heavy rains and strong winds Monday in the western portion of the Florida Panhandle, where it made landfall in the afternoon.

The storm disrupted long Memorial Day holiday weekend plans along from Pensacola in the Florida Panhandle to Miami Beach and other areas along the northern Gulf Coast, forced beachgoers out of the water and prompted evacuations of low-lying areas.

"Most of the issues we're having right now are downed trees and downed limbs," Walton County spokesman Louis Svehla told the Northwest Florida Daily News, as reported by the AP. "Our beaches did good. There was not a lot of erosion. The surge was not that large."

(MORE: This Can Be Your Worst Enemy in a Flash Flood)

Lifeguards posted red flags along the white sands of Pensacola Beach, where swimming and wading were banned amid high surf and dangerous conditions. Six people were rescued from strong currents created by Alberto near southern Alabama's Orange Beach, near Pensacola, early Sunday, according to WPMI-TV.

Harsh conditions from the storm stirred up big waves off the Gulf Coast's eastern and northern region, prompting officials to warn people about life-threatening rip currents and swells, AP reports. Swimmers have been urged to stay out of the water through Tuesday.

Over 20,000 homes and businesses were left in the dark Tuesday morning, and another 13,000 customers lost power in Florida on Monday, according to PowerOutage.us.

In Alabama, more than 25,000 lost power at the height of the storm, according to AP. 

The storm's impacts were felt as far south as Cuba, where an oil refinery was damaged in the central region of the island and an unknown amount of crude oil spilled into Cienfuegos Bay, according to the AP. About 20,000 people evacuated as the storm-damaged homes and other buildings in central Cuba, but no deaths were reported, the AP added.

Alberto got an early jump on the 2018 hurricane season, which doesn't officially start until Friday. The storm prompted Florida, Alabama and Mississippi to declare states of emergency over the weekend.