Hurricane Helene leaves nearly 100 dead; parts of North Carolina in ruins
CBC
A crisis unfolded in western North Carolina as officials pledged to get more water, food and other supplies to flood-stricken areas without power and cellular service Monday, days after Hurricane Helene ripped across the U.S. southeast. The death toll from the storm is approaching 100.
At least 91 people across several states were killed. One North Carolina county that includes the mountain city of Asheville reported 30 people killed.
Gov. Roy Cooper predicted the toll would rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.
Supplies were being airlifted to the region around Asheville. Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder pledged that she would have food and water to the city by Monday, four days after Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane.
"We hear you. We need food and we need water," Pinder said on a Sunday call with reporters.
"My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and we've been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close."
Officials warned that rebuilding from the widespread loss of homes and property would be lengthy and difficult. The storm upended life throughout the southeast. Deaths also were reported in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.
"I want to remind all North Carolinians that conditions on the ground remain extremely dangerous, even as flooding has has continued, and it will continue to recede," North Carolina's emergency management director William Ray-North said on Sunday.
Roadways are damaged, power lines are down and the ground is unstable. Rivers in the mountians are swollen with rain and the floodwater may take time to dissipate, he said.
"We asked people not to venture into storm-affected areas, whether to check on property, loved ones or just to sightsee," Ray-North said.
"Besides endangering yourself, you could also be interfering with emergency responders or repair crews."
Cooper implored residents in western North Carolina to avoid travel, both for their own safety and to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. More than 50 search teams spread throughout the region in search of stranded people.
One rescue effort involved saving 41 people north of Asheville. Another mission focused on saving a single infant. The teams found people through both 911 calls and social media messages, North Carolina National Guard Adjutant General Todd Hunt said.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday evening described the impact of the storm as "stunning" and said he would visit the area this week as long as it does not disrupt rescues or recovery work. In a brief exchange with reporters, he said the administration is giving states "everything we have" to help with their response to the storm.
