Helene's death toll climbs to 40 in Buncombe County, I-40 East reopens
- Helene's death toll now stands at 133 people killed in the U.S., including 40 in Buncombe County.
- More than 370,000 people in North Carolina are still without power.
- Mission Hospital in Asheville has more than 700 patients.
- There have been 900 emergency room (ER) visits.
- More than 80 patients in the ER are waiting to be admitted to the hospital.
- Interstate 40 East in Buncombe County has reopened. I-40 West is expected to open sometime Tuesday.
- Interstate 26 East in western North Carolina reopened Monday, but I-26 West remains closed.
- There are currently 85 active incidents on main roads in North Carolina and 367 active incidents on secondary roads.
- People evacuating the Asheville area can use I-40 east or I-26 east.
- Food and water distribution began Monday afternoon in Buncombe County. Distribution centers are listed below.
Dramatic imagery continues to pour in from western North Carolina, a region crippled by historic flooding. Residents are left to deal with life-threatening conditions from the impacts of Helene.
Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said Monday there are now 40 confirmed deaths in the county related to Helene – and that number is likely to grow.
"Devastation does not even begin to describe how we feel," he said during a news conference Monday morning.
Nationally, at least 133 people have died as a result of Helene.
Buncombe County has received more than 1,000 missing persons reports through an online form, County Manager Avril Pinder said.
To help with search efforts, WRAL News has begun compiling a list of residents who are safe. To mark yourself safe, please reach out to us via this form and use the subject line NC Safe List.
Buncombe County set up four distribution centers to provide food and meals Monday afternoon. Bottles of water and bags of food were handed out at the following distribution centers:
- William W. Estes Elementary School - 275 Overlook Road, Asheville
- Sand Hill Elementary - 154 Sand Hill School Road, Asheville (Please enter via Acton Circle)
- North Windy Ridge Intermediate School - 20 Doan Road, Weaverville
- Fairview Elementary School - 1355 Charlotte Highway, Fairview
- Water is also being distributed at Pack Square Park. Please bring your own container to this location.
Pinder said these are drive-thru and walk-up distribution centers. Residents can get two gallons of water – or a maximum of five gallons per family.
More distribution centers will be set up Tuesday in Asheville, county officials said.
Interstate 40 East has reopened in Buncombe County. Interstate 26 East is also open.
Buncombe County officials are encouraging organizations to use this as an opportunity to bring food, water and other supplies to western N.C. communities. Those evacuating the area can now use I-40 East and I-26 East to leave the area.
There are currently 85 active incidents on main roads in North Carolina and 367 active incidents on secondary roads, according to DriveNC.gov. The number of road incidents has practically doubled since Monday morning – when there were only 43 active incidents on main roads and 147 on secondary roads.
This could be a result of people trying to navigate roads that are impassable. WRAL News is working to learn what caused the number to spike.
President Joe Biden will be in the state Wednesday to survey the devastation in the mountains of Western North Carolina. On Sunday, the president approved Governor Roy Cooper’s request for a Federal Major Disaster Declaration to provide immediate federal help for 25 North Carolina counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) warned Sunday that North Carolina has three active flash flood emergencies related to potential dam failures at Lake James, Catawba River and Mountain Island Lake.
'We need food and we need water': Distribution begins, but many communities still waiting for critical supplies
Water services are down, and authorities said there is no commercial or retail water available. This is just one of the latest threats western N.C. residents are facing after Helene devastated the area.
"We need food and we need water," Pinder said Sunday evening.
Luckily, water has started to show up. Pinder said a distribution center was set up at Ingles Grocery Store on N.C. Highway 9 in Black Mountain. By Monday afternoon, four other distribution centers had been set up in Buncombe County. County officials said more distribution centers will be set up Tuesday.
For residents in the area — particularly those at the Hillcrest Housing Project — prolonged days without basic services are becoming increasingly critical.
"There’s little babies that have nothing to drink," Mariah Flaherty said. "And we’re going on three, four days now with no water."
Pinder said the county's existing water supply is inaccessible since it's located on the other side of the river in Swannanoa. Then on top of that, the Weaverville water plant flooded with 8 feet of water, the mayor said Sunday.
'Catastrophic' damage to Asheville's water system leaves hundreds of thousands without access to clean water
Cooper said there is "significant damage" to water systems throughout western North Carolina. A boil water advisory remains in effect.
Authorities said, as of Sunday, 52 water systems were without power, and an additional 93 systems are under a boil water advisory. It's unclear how long it will take to repair these water systems, but authorities said it could take quite some time.
"The damage to Asheville's water system is catastrophic," said Assistant City Manager Ben Woody. "We have a severely damaged water system."
County officials said water lines have been destroyed and need to be replaced; all three water plants require extensive repairs. Those repairs are underway, Woody said.
The Mills River water plant is operating but at a very reduced capacity. Officials said they hope to get this plant up and running by the end of the week.
Officials said the William DeBruhl water plant at Bee Tree has been inaccessible because of the road washing out. The National Guard is working to help crews gain access to the water plant.
The Bee Tree dam has been inspected by ground and air, and officials said it's functioning as it should; there is no evidence of the structure being compromised. Officials said the dam at the Woodfin Reservoir has been inspected and is in no danger of failing.
Woody said the water department is working 24/7 to restore water to the community, but it could take weeks.
"There is a massive effort going on now to move water and other supplies into these effected areas," Cooper said during a news conference Sunday.
The county manager said that trucks of food and water are on their way but have been stuck in transit.
Cooper said supplies and essential commodities are also being airlifted to these communities. But that has also proven to be difficult, with many communities still waiting for critical supplies.
Apex Baptist Church collected hundreds of water cases that volunteers brought to western North Carolina on Monday.
"When you don't have access to clean drinking water... you really begin to panic," said Zeb Cook, lead pastor at Apex Baptist. "You begin to think, 'Okay, what are we going to do?'
"And there's so many families they have no way to get out of where they are. The need for clean drinking water, and then not having the ability to get to any type of water is so tragic."
Several other groups have been collecting supplies for these communities. To see how you can help, click here.
Hundreds of thousands still without power in western NC
No water, no power, no cell service: This is the reality for thousands of residents in western North Carolina. Residents are unable to contact loved ones or call for help, and flooding has left roads impassable and residents trapped in the mountains.
"The impacts of this storm are unprecedented, even historic," Chris Nault, spokesperson of North Carolina Electric Cooperative, said.
As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, more than 372,000 customers remain without power in North Carolina, according to poweroutage.us. The number of outages in North Carolina has fluctuated since Saturday afternoon, which saw more than 700,000 customers without power.
In Buncombe County, more than 80,000 customers remain without power. That number decreased to about 8,000 for a brief period Sunday, but totals shot back up shortly after.
There are roughly 15,000 technicians and support personnel from 19 states and Canada in the Carolinas working to restore power.
State and local leaders said on Sunday that they'll focus on restoring power to hospitals, schools and other essential services first.
The catastrophic damage in these mountain cities and towns – which some are comparing to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans – has made restoration efforts difficult.
"In many areas of western North Carolina, especially in higher elevations, access is extremely difficult," Jeff Brooks with Duke Energy said.
Crews are working around the clock, but hundreds of road closures in western North Carolina have slowed down crews.
"So the challenge with that is, in many cases, accessing these areas to begin restoration, to begin assessing damage and begin making repairs," Nault said.
Aside from having no power, many residents are also unable to get gas.
Brittany Neal hasn't been able to see her children because she can't find anywhere to get gas.
"I can’t get home. I haven’t seen my kids. I’m tired. I'm hungry. [I] still have no power," Neal said. "I have no gas to get to my kids. I don’t know where to get gas."
No cell service leaves many western NC residents unable to contact loved ones or call for help
Communication outages in the western part of the state have left many residents unable to contact loved ones or call for help.
With cell phone service hard to come by, many residents are seeking out places like the TownPlace Hotel off Interstate 240 just to get a reliable connection.
A temporary cellular satellite trailer is being installed at the Family Justice Center (35 Woodfin Place) in Asheville to provide limited cell reception within several blocks.
In a rare occurrence this past weekend, the state Department of Transportation declared all roads closed in the western part of the state, leaving many with nowhere to turn after one of the most significant weather events the area has seen. As of Sunday, there is no timetable for power restoration or cell phone service to return.
"Our challenges with communication is adding to our ability to contact loved ones," Miller said. "This is a historic event. I don't know that we can ever properly prepare for everything. This was new to all of us. This is stretching us in places that we didn't know. To say this caught us off guard would be an understatement."
Many are stranded with no way to call for help with no electricity or running water to compound the problem. The rain stopped Friday afternoon, but the catastrophic impacts will be felt for some time. The state and phone service providers have activated disaster roaming, which allows any phone on any cellular network to access any available network.
Some viewers contacted WRAL News and told them they weren't able to reach loved ones in the mountains. Johnson said some areas had pockets of cell service, but those quickly became bogged down by people trying to contact loved ones.
"There's one corner of the parking lot that people have found there's a signal," she said. "20 to 30 people just trying to talk. Right now, everyone just wants cell phone service."
Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers said Saturday was the first time he's been able to send a message from his phone since Thursday. Smathers said the town suffered "apocalyptic" flooding.
"My heart is broken, not only for our town, but for the entire region," Smathers said.
Cooper said while he also wants cell service restored to the region, it's not as simple as cutting a switch back on.
"I’ve been pushing the cell phone companies to work, to bring in deployable assets because we know the landslides have cut fiber and cables and that a lot of the services are down, we know that they need to get communications up as quickly as possible," he said. "They had devastating losses themselves, most of their areas were flooded as well, so we’re trying to get deployable assets in to get cell phone service back up and to get power hooked back up."
Many residents trapped by flooding and landslides
Landslides and flooding forced the closure of many roads. Communication methods were spotty with cell phone service for most major carriers being out for many. Small towns with limited roads around like Beech Mountain and Chimney Rock were inaccessible due to collapsed pavement or trees down across roadways.
Hundreds of roads remained closed in northwestern North Carolina Tuesday morning. According to DriveNC.gov, there are still 85 active incidents on main roads and 367 active incidents on secondary roads.
All roads in western North Carolina should be considered closed, and non-emergency travel is prohibited, according to the NCDOT.
Interstate 40 is impassable in multiple locations. Interstate 26 was closed at the Tennessee state line but has reopened, officials announced Monday morning. This is one of the only major routes to get in and out of the city.
Authorities said Sunday in an update that N.C. Highway 251 is not fully accessible.
These road conditions mean line technicians and first responders are facing unprecedented challenges in helping people.
The western part of the state got so much rain that the official rain gauge in Asheville stopped collecting at one point on Friday morning. Even with that, the 12.17 inches of rain recorded over a three-day period was the largest three-day total on record in the city since 1879.
Busick in Yancey County saw 30.78 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
The flooding was so powerful and swift that on Friday, shipping containers, vehicles and entire homes got swept away in floodwaters.
"The rivers are hazardous spillways because of the amount of hazardous materials that's in our waterways," Jones said. "Please stay away from this water. It is dirty water. It is very dangerous. It is very swift."
Asheville's historic Biltmore Village area was hit particularly hard and submerged in water from the nearby Swannanoa River.
Grandfather Mountain is also closed indefinitely due to damage from Helene. According to officials, Grandfather Mountain suffered landslides, flooding and intense wind damage from Helene.
Search and rescue efforts shift to air as roads remain impassable
As of Sunday, hundreds of rescues have been made in the state.
In Weaverville, the mayor said 15 water rescues were made on Saturday alone, and several neighborhoods were evacuated.
"We’re going to continue this effort to make sure that we rescue people," Cooper said Sunday. "The swift-water rescues are going on now as we speak."
With many roads impassable, search and rescue efforts have shifted to the air.
Several air rescues have been made in western North Carolina, authorities said during a news conference Sunday.
Several of these rescues were made in the Chimney Rock area, he said. The largest rescue was 41 people north of Asheville in Buncombe County.
Swannanoa Fire Chief Anthony Penland said Sunday that the area is completely devastated.
"The Old Highway 70 is gone," Penland said. "We've [got] complete neighborhoods that are no longer there."
He said search and rescue crews are working to find survivors in those neighborhoods and along Old 70.
"We are still trying to save every single person we can," Pinder said.
Another concern is getting food, water and other supplies into these affected areas.
"Right now, we're sending supplies in the air," Cooper said. "We're also finding routes to get supplies in. The Department of Transportation is helping emergency vehicles find routes to get around the devastation of the roads."
As crews continue working on getting supplies to the region, Johnson was left wondering how they're going to make it happen.
"You can't go two miles down the road, because you can't get past it. [The] police chief can't call out of the state to let them know that they needed help," she said. You can't even get donations. I mean, we were talking to our neighbors [and] we don't even know how to get food into our county. I mean, you can't even get in."
All roads in western North Carolina are still considered closed.
"I want to remind all North Carolinians that conditions on the ground remain extremely dangerous." said Emergency Management Director Will Ray. "Roadways are damaged. There are downed power lines and unstable ground."
'Everything's gone': Damage in western NC rivals Hurricane Katrina, officials say
During a news conference Saturday afternoon, Buncombe County authorities described the damage as "Buncombe County's own Hurricane Katrina," and described the damage as "biblical devastation."
"Everything’s gone," said Samuel Giles.
The once-in-a-lifetime storm and precipitation that preceded it brought nearly a foot of rain to some spots. Saturday, the strain on the area's infrastructure was immense as dangerous conditions persisted. Jamie Johnson, who lives in Banner Elk, said she's never seen damage this severe in the region.
"It's indescribable what we're seeing," she said. "Every road is washed out at some point. If they're not washed out, there are roads in the trees and there are mudslides."
Officials said entire neighborhoods have been washed away.
"Those communities no longer resemble what they were a week ago," Pinder said.
Linda Pryor, a western North Carolina farmer, said she has not seen flooding like this in her lifetime.
"I remember my parents talking about a flood in 1916 and it was a very similar scenario where it was two systems back-to-back," she said. "This is the first time I've experienced that firsthand."
Western NC colleges and universities
Boone's King Street was flooded on Friday, putting a dent in Parents' Weekend at Appalachian State University. Appalachian State has opened its dining hall to emergency relief.
UNC-Asheville canceled classes until Oct. 7 due to damage on campus from the storm, adding they will provide "security, food, water and comfort" to the students still on campus.
Appalachian State and Western Carolina universities also canceled classes through Friday, Oct. 4, due to damage around their campuses.
Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk is asking all members of the campus community to shelter in place until further notice. UNC Asheville had critical infrastructure damages from the flooding.
Resources for help/information
Red Cross: The North Carolina National Guard advises anyone who is need of support to reach out to American Red Cross of North Carolina.
Call 1-800-RED CROSS and select "disaster" from the prompts.
There is also a number for crisis cleanup. If someone just needs debris removed, call 844-965-1386.
Facebook: If you have cell service or internet service, you can mark yourself safe on Facebook using the social media platform's Crisis Response service.
Facebook's Crisis Response lets people affected by crises tell friends they're safe, find or offer help and get the latest news and information.
Go to facebook.com/crisisresponse.
Appalachian State opens dining hall: The central dining hall at Appalachian State University is open to the community. Food and internet service are available. You do not have to be affiliated with ASU to come.
Power outages: Check poweroutage.us for outage information.
Shelters: The American Red Cross opened dozens of shelters in the region. Check here for shelter locations.
Traffic: Check drivenc.gov for updates on road closures. In general, driving in western North Carolina is not advised as the state is considering all roads in the area to be closed.
Water bills: Check water levels in your area through FIMAN (Flood Inundation Mapping & Alert Network)
211: Call 211 for free and confidential information on health and human services. Visit readync.gov for emergency resources and information.
Meal availability: The Salvation Army is responding to requests for meal service. More information is on helpsalvationarmy.org.
If you would like to know how else you can help residents in western North Carolina, click here.
