More than 2 million people remained without power late Sunday across the Southeast in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, including more than 430,000 in North Carolina, where the deadly storm pulverized homes, trapped residents, spawned landslides, and submerged communities under raging floodwaters.
At least 90 people have died across multiple states since the record-breaking storm hit Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 hurricane with 140-mph winds Thursday, before moving north through Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas and weakening to a post-tropical cyclone. The death toll is expected to rise.
On Sunday, North Carolina officials were still trying to grasp the level of devastation. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said at a news conference that at least 11 people died in the devastated state, “and tragically we know there will be more.”
Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder said more than 1,000 people were reported missing through the county’s online portal but added that she expected the number to drop dramatically when cell service is restored. Rescue crews are “still trying to save every single person we can” in the hard-hit community, Pinder said.
Hundreds of roads were washed away, cellular service for over 250,000 people was cut off, and vast swaths of cities such as Asheville were left underwater. Cooper said Helene had become “one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of North Carolina.”
Officials said earlier that more than 200 people had been rescued in the state by water and helicopter crews.
Ryan Cole, the assistant director of Buncombe County Emergency Services, said the wreckage was overwhelming. “We have biblical devastation through the county. We’ve had biblical flooding here,” Cole said.
At least two people in eastern Tennessee have died due to the recent devastation caused by Helene, officials said Sunday. One death was confirmed in Unicoi County and the other in Johnson County.
“We do expect this number to change,” spokesperson Myron Hughes of the Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency said during a 5 p.m. news conference. Tennessee officials reported that 153 people were still unaccounted for in the state as of Sunday afternoon.
Many communities across eastern Tennessee were still underwater and coping with crumbled roads, unsteady bridges, and devastated utility systems. The remnants of Helene brought rivers to record levels and forced evacuations.
Local schools remained closed, including Carter County Schools which will likely be closed “for an indefinite period of time due to the ongoing disruptions,” count spokesperson Ivan Sanders said. In Elizabethton, Sycamore Shores Hospital had shut down but nearby hospitals were up and running, according to Sanders.
Leave a Reply