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RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) — Western North Carolina has begun recovery efforts as dozens of counties are still without power, clean water and cell service after Hurricane Helene.
The storm brought catastrophic flooding to the Blue Ridge Mountain area of North Carolina, flooding Biltmore Village and the city of Asheville, along with devastating over 20 counties.
When Helene hit, it caused life-threatening flash flooding and landslides across the foothills and mountains, washing away roads and blocking others with downed trees. Nearly 300 roads were closed when the storm hit Friday morning and much of western North Carolina was still impassable. Officials have shut down non-emergency travel.
Many areas received between 10 and 29 inches of rain, Governor Roy Cooper said during a press conference Sunday, and winds brought down trees, power lines and cell towers. Significant infrastructure damage has resulted in limited cell service.
Over 300,000 residents in western North Carolina are still without power, according to Duke Energy. At its peak, more than one million residents were without power.
Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller reported Sunday afternoon that 30 deaths have been confirmed in the Asheville area so far and 42 deaths reported in the state.
Helene has killed more than 120 people in the southeast, and road closures across the state are complicating rescue efforts. The North Carolina National Guard is airlifting supplies as crews attempt to restore power, cell service and roads. At least 100 vehicles and 11 aircrafts have been dispatched.
“This is a historic and catastrophic storm for western North Carolina and I’m grateful to first responders working right now to save lives and evacuate residents,” Cooper said. “Efforts are also underway to get power and communications restored, and we’re bringing in needed supplies by air.”
State search and rescue teams have conducted hundreds of rescues, the governor’s office reports, and multiple other states are providing assistance, including New York, Indiana, Illinois, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, Delaware and Michigan.
“Our search and rescue teams are continuing to work. We know that we have areas in Fairview, Brock Mountain, Swannanoa and Barnardsville where the devastation is unthinkable,” Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder said in a press conference Sunday afternoon. “Those communities no longer resemble what they were a week ago, and loved ones are still trapped. Our search and rescue crews will not stop.”
Zeb Smathers, the mayor of a small mountain town called Clanton, described the damage as unimaginable and flooding as apocalyptic.
In the state’s capital, Raleigh, local efforts to support mountain towns several hours away are in full swing. Wake Forest Fire Department Station 1 has become a hub to drop off and pick up supplies for impacted areas. The fire station is packed with diapers, propane tanks, canned food and bottled water. Cars pack the pavement in front of the building, full of supplies the local community is donating to send westward.
The fire station is trying to restrict donations to between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., but they aren’t turning away donations brought at any hour, Captain Daniel Gregory of the Wake Forest Fire Department said. They were waiting for a box truck to arrive to take supplies, and firefighters were packing up pallets. A local business had donated a forklift and small businesses and civilians trying to get home were helping to transport supplies.
“Everybody out west is in our thoughts and prayers. The focus is just getting them what they need,” Gregory said.
President Joe Biden approved a request for a federal major disaster declaration for North Carolina Sunday, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to step in and assist people living in impacted counties, and reimburse local governments for infrastructure repairs.
Family members out-of-state attempting to reach North Carolina residents can call 1-888-892-1162. In state residents looking for family can call NC 211 or report themselves as safe through the Red Cross by calling 1-800-733-2767. Donations for North Carolina are being gathered through the state’s disaster relief fund.
“This is one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of western North Carolina,” said Cooper. “The end of the rain is not the end of the threat.”
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