Communities in Carolinas and Georgia Battle Aftermath of Helene Without Power, Water
Washington-TND - October 2, 2024 12:48 pm
East Asheville, NC Oct. 1, 2024(WLOS)
WASHINGTON (TND) — The wrath of Hurricane Helene is still being felt in several states.
Communities in North Carolina remain without essential items as rescue efforts from Helene continued Wednesday – most of them happening in the western part of the state.
We know that the devastation brought by hurricane Helene is beyond belief, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said on Tuesday. “Communities were wiped off the map, dozens of lives lost, hundreds of roads remain damaged or impassable. Communication has been difficult due to cell phone and power outages.
Communication and power outages have complicated response efforts, but progress is being Cooper assured.
Cadaver dogs and search crews trudged through knee-deep muck and debris in the mountains of western North Carolina looking for more victims. At least 57 people were killed in Buncombe County alone, home to city of Asheville, a tourism haven known for its art galleries, breweries and outdoor activities.
Over 345,603 customers remained without power on Tuesday, according to poweroutage.us. Cooper said that 1,100 people are housed in 29 shelters across the state.
Access to water is difficult for many people across the region. Cooper’s administration said on Tuesday that more than two dozen water plants remained closed.
“We’re working together to open more major routes to push supplies forward while repairing roads,” said.
Key roads began reopening. Interstate 40 east from Asheville and the westbound lanes reopened after a mudslide was cleared, but a collapsed stretch near North Carolina’s border with Tennessee remained closed.
FEMA has provided significant aid, including a million liters of water and over 600,000 meals.
The federal agency has also established feeding sites in Buncombe, McDowell and Watauga counties.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have committed all available resources as over 57,000 North Carolinians have applied for FEMA assistance.
Biden is expected to visit North Carolina and its neighboring state Wednesday. In Raleigh, Biden will be briefed at the state’semergency operation center. He’ll then head to South Carolina to survey the damage in impacted areas from above.
In Georgia there were 362,316 people without power as of Wednesday morning.
In Augusta, Georgia, people waited in line more than three hours to get water from one of five centers set up to serve more than 200,000 people, according to the Associated Press.
Harris will be Georgia to survey the impacts of Hurricane Helene and receive an on-the-ground briefing. Harris is expected to provide updates on “Federal actions that are being taken to support emergency response and recovery efforts in Georgia and several other states throughout the southeast.”
More than 150,000 households have registered for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and that number is expected to rise rapidly in the coming days, said Frank Matranga, an agency representative.
Nearly 2 million ready-to-eat meals and more than a million liters of water have been sent to the hardest-hit areas, Matranga said.
Active-duty U.S. military units may be needed to assist the long-term recovery, he said, adding that Biden had given “the green light” to mobilizing military assets soon.
As many communities across the southeastern U.S. were impacted by Helene’s catastrophic storm, Sinclair Broadcast Group teamed up with the Salvation Army to provide critical relief to communities that are picking up the pieces.
Sinclair Broadcasting Group’s partnership with the Salvation Army kicks off Tuesday, October 1. Our Helene relief will also be supported by a $50,000 donation from Sinclair.
If you would like to donate financially to help provide relief throughout Western North Carolina and other affected areas throughout the southeast, visit SinclairCares.com to donate.
