The death toll from Hurricane Helene reached 200 on Thursday and may rise, as searchers head into hard-to-reach areas in the mountains of western North Carolina, where the storm washed out roads and knocked out power, water and cellphone service.
Officials in Georgia and North Carolina added their state’s worst figures, tallying a total that made Helene the worst hurricane to hit the US state since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
While government cargo planes brought food and water to these areas and rescue workers waded into streams looking for survivors, those going through the storm depended on each other for support.
In Black Mountain, NC, town officials have been holding daily meetings in the town square.
“It’s amazing to meet in person,” said Sarah Vekasi, who has been cut off by impassable roads for days. More than 150 people gathered for Wednesday’s session, as local leaders stood on a picnic table shouting out updates.
Martha Sullivan took careful notes so she could share information — roads reopened, progress in getting power and water restored — with others.
Sullivan, who has lived in Black Mountain for 43 years, said her children invited her to come to Charlotte after the storm, but she wants to take care of her neighbors.
“I’ll stay as long as I feel like I’m useful,” Sullivan said.
Helping each other in the hardest hit areas
In remote areas in the mountains, helicopters lifted the trapped to safety while searchers moved downed trees to go door-to-door for survivors.
Hundreds of people are still missing in North Carolina days after Hurricane Helene hit the Southeast US. Andrew Chang explains why so many people are unknown, and why it is so difficult for rescue teams to find them.
Power is slowly being restored, but about 900,000 customers are still without power in the Carolinas and Georgia, where Helene made landfall after slamming into Florida’s Gulf Coast on September 26 as a Category 4 storm. Deaths were reported in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. , above the Carolinas.
Robin Wynn collapsed in her Asheville, NC, home early last Friday and had to wade through knee-deep water to get to a shelter. Now that he has returned home, his neighbors have been worried, he said.
Eric Williamson, who works at First Baptist Church in Hendersonville, NC, often visits the homes of members who cannot physically attend church. This week, he is their lifeline, bringing food and providing a friendly face.
He has a handwritten list of all the people he needs to visit. “They don’t have phones, even if they have a landline, a lot of that doesn’t work,” said Williamson. “So we bring them food and water, but we also bring them a smile and a prayer with them just to comfort them.”
Notifying relatives of people who died in the storm has been difficult in these remote areas.
With no cellphone service, there’s no way to contact a relative, said Avril Pinder, a sheriff in Buncombe County where at least 61 people died. “We have a confirmed body count, but we don’t have identifiers on everyone or next of kin notifications.”
The county doesn’t have an official count of missing or missing people, but they’re still finding people, she said.
“We know that we have pockets of people who are being isolated because of landslides and bridges coming out.”
Biden and Harris get their looks in person
American President Joe Biden flew over the damage that occurred in North and South Carolina on Wednesday, and saw for himself the mess left by the storm.
The federal government has committed to moving the bill on debris removal and emergency protection measures for six months to deal with the various impacts of landslides and floods.
“We’re not leaving until you’re completely back,” Biden said.
Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to neighboring Georgia, where the federal government is covering the cost of the same emergency aid for three months.
Biden plans to visit disaster areas in Florida and Georgia on Thursday.
The storm left a path of destruction from Florida to Tennessee, and officials and residents in those states are still dealing with the consequences.
Authorities in the state of Tennessee said they are investigating a company that runs a plastics factory after some workers said they were not allowed to leave early to avoid the impact of the storm when it hit last week. The flood waters washed away 11 workers, only five were rescued. Two have been confirmed dead.
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