NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reversed an earlier decision and now will release maps showing areas that could be flooded by a break in the Wolf Creek Dam in Kentucky.

Related: Video | Video | Inundation Map 1 | Inundation Map 2 | Inundation Map 3

Initially the agency declined to make the information available for publishing on the Internet or in newspapers, saying it could be used to help terrorists.

"What has changed is that, after reviewing everything, we have made the determination that it's in the public's interest to release these maps," corps spokesman Bill Peoples said Monday.

The corps will make the maps available at public meetings set for next month in communities along the Cumberland River below the Wolf Creek Dam but hasn't decided how else to release the documents.

The Corps of Engineers estimates that in Wilson County, 2,600 homes could flood or submerge, and Highway 70 and other roads would be under water if the dam fails.

People and the news media have been asking to see the maps after officials announced earlier this month that both the Wolf Creek and Center Hill dams are "high" risks for breaks because of eroding limestone. The federal officials warned people along the Cumberland and its tributaries to prepare for a flooding emergency.

Maps of potential flooding have been drawn up in case of a break at Wolf Creek Dam, which holds back the largest reservoir east of the Mississippi River and forms Lake Cumberland in Kentucky. Officials have been releasing water at Wolf Creek to ease the effects of any break.

The maps have been shown at other public meetings and to people who visited corps or county emergency agency offices.

"It will take 18 hours before water begins to rise in Wilson County, and it will rise up to 8 inches per hour for five days. So we have time as far as getting people evacuated and our plan in place," said Planning Officer Dr. Michelle Riley of the Wilson Emergency Management Agency.

Doris Newman lives near the Cumberland River in Nashville with family in Hendersonville and Gallatin, and she called the threat of flooding scary.

"It would help if we knew which areas would flood," she said.

The Wolf Creek Dam in Jamestown, Ky., was built more than 50 years ago. It was placed on the Corps of Engineers high risk failure radar because of leakage.

A $309 million upgrade is underway.

Maps Of Potential Flood Areas Released To Area Libraries

• Clay County Public Library, 116 Guffey Street, Celina, TN 38551
• Cumberland County Public Library, 114 Hill Street, Burkesville, KY 42717-0440
• William B. Harlan Memorial Library, 500 West Fourth St., Tompkinsville, KY 42167-1497
• Mt. Juliet-Wilson County-Harvey Freeman Memorial Library, 2765 North Mt. Juliet Rd., Mount. Juliet, TN 37122-0319
• Clinton County Public Library, 302 King Drive, Albany, KY 42602-1603
• Russell County Public Library, 94 North Main Street, Jamestown, KY 42629-0970
• Lebanon-Wilson County Public Library, 108 South Hatton Ave., Lebanon, TN 37087-3590
• Dekalb County – Justin Pott4er Library, 101 South, First St., Smithville, TN 37166
• Charles Ralph Holland Memorial Library, 205 West Hull Ave., Gainesboro, TN 38562-0647
• Smith County Public Library, 215 North Main St., Carthage, TN 37030-1539
• Fred A. Vaught Memorial Library, 211 White Oak St., Hartsville, TN 37074
• Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., Nashville, TN 37219
• Inglewood Public Library, 4312 Gallatin Rd., Nashville, TN 37015
• Hermitage Public Library, 3700 James Kay Lane, Hermitage, TN 37076
• Bordeaux Public Library, 4000 Clarksville Pike, Nashville, TN 37218
• Martin Curtis-Hendersonville Public Library, 116 Dunn St., Hendersonville, TN 37077