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‘It’s like something out of the Bible’: Emergency response operations continue in western NC after Helene

By Dylan Rhoney

October 3, 2024

Western North Carolina remains in crisis in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, with ongoing recovery operations underway. Dozens of deaths have been confirmed, and hundreds of people remain unaccounted for. 

“It’s like something out of the Bible.” 

That’s how Crystal Capps of Yancey County described the impact of Hurricane Helene on her community.

Mt. Mitchell, the highest point in the state, feeds into both the Cane River and the South Toe River that flow through Yancey County. The combination of the region’s topography and days of rain before the hurricane reached the area left local communities in an exceedingly vulnerable position.

Some parts of the county saw more than two feet of rain dumped on them over a three-day period last week, fueling massive floods as the rivers overflowed and hammered communities along their banks.

“The mountains make it difficult for people to get in and out. The river swelled 40+ feet high in many places. Valleys turned into rivers. Mudslides took out entire homes,” Capps explained to Cardinal & Pine. “Where the [Cane] river’s at, it’s so narrow. That’s part of the reason the water got so high on that end, it didn’t have anywhere to go, but up.”

While Capps’ own home was spared damage, the storm’s impact on her community was “devastating,” she said. 

The area’s topography has also made recovery efforts more complicated. 

Burnsville, the county seat of Yancey, is located around an hour northeast of Asheville. Much of the county is very rural, and like many parts of western North Carolina, it’s not always easy to get to on a good day. 

In an interview on Sunday, Gov. Roy Cooper explained to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow the complexities of rescue operations in these areas.

“If you can’t get to them by land, then we are using aircraft to get in there. There have been a number of air rescues, actually hundreds of air rescues, because areas have been cut off,” he said.  

Hundreds of people remain unaccounted for across the region. Cooper said efforts are underway to find and rescue them, if needed. 

“We have rescue teams from all over the country right now, from over 20 states. Federal rescue teams, our national guard is deployed. We have over 700 activated,” he said.

Federal support for the western North Carolina 

As Cooper noted, the federal government is playing a key role in the on-the-ground response in western North Carolina.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration, which covers 25 counties in western NC and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in the state, making federal money available to those living in these areas to receive support for housing, home repairs, low-cost loans to restore damage for uninsured property loss, and support for businesses impacted by Helene.

On Wednesday, Biden also ordered the activation of 1,000 soldiers to assist with recovery efforts across the southeast, and visited North Carolina to meet with emergency personnel  and first responders working around the clock to navigate the crisis and save lives.

The White House reports that 1200 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) personnel have also conducted searches in 675 areas in the state, leading to 127 people being rescued. The total number of Urban Search and Rescue personnel has also increased to 1,250 in the region.

Biden also announced Wednesday that the state of North Carolina would be reimbursed for 100% of the cleanup costs for six months. Cooper said yesterday that this would greatly benefit the state and ease its cost burden in the recovery.

During his visit to the state on Wednesday, Biden joined Cooper and Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer for an aerial tour of Asheville and other parts of western North Carolina.

“What I saw was heartbreaking,” Biden said in a post to the president’s Facebook page. “But back on the ground, we’re witnessing neighbors helping neighbors, volunteers and workers standing side-by-side, people leaning on each other. That’s America.” 

After Biden’s visit, Manheimer told reporters that it was clear Biden understood the scope of the crisis and the need for continued federal support.

“He also understands that this is a catastrophe that far exceeds any local government, or even state government’s ability to recover from on our own,” Manheimer said.

And Biden, for his part, pledged to provide that support.

“I’m here to say the United States – the nation – has your back,” Biden said at an emergency command center in Raleigh alongside Gov. Cooper. “We’re not leaving until you’re back on your feet completely.”

Finding the missing

As resources pour into the state, search and rescue operations continue in an effort to find those who are missing or unaccounted for. 

Capps said two of her cousins who could not be reached were thankfully found alive on Tuesday.

She said that the efforts of local emergency services and everyday people in Burnsville and Yancey County and communities like it should not be forgotten amidst the broader state and federal efforts. 

“Fire and Rescue, EMS, have led the charge. They have done an outstanding job. They have worked miracles up here. There was no way to prepare for this,” Capps said. “Don’t get me wrong, there has been folks, I see these helicopters and I know they’re making air rescues, but there have been a hell of a lot of people who have been rescued by people right here in this county.” 

Those unable to make contact with a friend or family member can dial 2-1-1 in North Carolina to request a welfare check. If a person out-of-state needs to report a missing person, they should dial 1-888-892-1162.

Asheville is ‘still in crisis mode’

Images broadcast across the country and the world paint a dire picture of Helene’s impact on the city of Asheville. As of the time of publication, 61 people have died in the county, according to Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller, with rescue efforts still underway to find missing individuals.

Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer told CNN’s Caitlin Collins on Tuesday that the situation in her city remained critical.

“First of all is that we don’t have water and power to most folks that are living in Asheville and the surrounding area, which is in Buncombe County, and so the priority is to restore water and power. And, in the meantime, we have got to get resources to folks that need drinking water, food, and basic necessities for everyday life” Manheimer said.

Blue Ridge Radio reported earlier this week that up to 100,000 people in the city may need support getting drinking water for several weeks. 

“Extensive repairs are required to treatment facilities, underground and aboveground water pipes,” read a press release from the city.  “It is important to note that restoring service to the full system could potentially take weeks.” 

State Reps. Eric Ager and Lindsey Prather of Buncombe County told Cardinal & Pine earlier in the week that water was the biggest need for the community and that efforts were underway from city, county, and state personnel to ensure residents had adequate drinking water.

“We are still in a crisis. We are not in recovery mode yet, but when we are it will be a long, long time before we’re out of this,” Prather said via text message.

Currently, there are multiple sites within the county that residents can go to receive a day’s  supply of water for their household, including Sand Hill Elementary School, Fairview Elementary School, and North Windy Ridge Intermediate School in Weaverville.

While some of the area’s public schools are serving as water stations, the question of when they’ll reopen to students is unknown at this time. The Superintendent of Asheville City Schools, Dr. Maggie Fehrman, and Superintendent of Buncombe County Schools, Dr. Rob Jackson, said that water is a huge issue for their facilities.

“None of our buildings have water. That is the most crucial piece to bringing students back into our buildings,” Fehrman said on Wednesday. 

Due to the devastating impacts of the storm, UNC-Asheville has also announced that classes will not resume on-campus until at least October 28th. 

Telecommunications have been an issue

For Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers, issues with telecommunications have been an issue from day one of the crisis. 

On Saturday, Smathers posted to Facebook about his frustrations that members of the community couldn’t reach loved ones as Helene ravaged the entire region.

“The idea that not just us here in Canton and across Western North Carolina cannot communicate to our citizens, families, and our emergency management is absolutely disgraceful,” he wrote. “The possibility that anybody had the ability to rescue someone and tell their loved ones to get out, and they couldn’t is horrible, disgusting, and unacceptable.” 

When he spoke to Cardinal & Pine on Tuesday afternoon, telecommunications remained a problem in Canton, something he’d emphasized to Gov. Cooper, as well as in conversations with the White House. Smathers believes resolving that problem is the biggest need right now.

“I think telecommunications is first and foremost still. Because that will make every point easier,” Smathers said.

Following his visit to the state, President Biden posted to Facebook that his administration was deploying telecommunications support and mentioned Canton in his post.

“We’ve deployed 67 Starlink satellites so that folks in places like Canton can call for help and reach their loved ones,” Biden’s statement read.

Smathers posted his own response to X. “From the Mayor of Canton, I simply say thank you Mr. President 🇺🇸.” 

More broadly, Smathers said that this can’t be a “one size fits all” recovery — a message he has stressed to state leadership.

“Western North Carolina, it is so unique, with towns like Asheville to small places like Spruce Pine and everywhere in between. They need to understand that a one-size fits all recovery is not going to make sense,” Smathers said. “Everybody, no matter where you call home in western North Carolina, deserves that equal access to resources.” 

Recovery efforts in Boone

The High Country was heavily impacted by Hurricane Helene. The Watauga Democrat, the county’s main newspaper, reported that officials described the event as “the worst natural disaster in Watauga County’s modern history,” and that two deaths have been confirmed, with recovery efforts still underway.

Currently, the Red Cross is operating the Holmes Convocation Center at Appalachian State University as a shelter for those needing a place to stay. Central Dining Hall on campus is providing free meals to both students and the broader community, and Wi-Fi is accessible for free there. 

At the university, classes have been canceled through at least the fall break on October 11th.

Jack Yordy, the president of the school’s College Democrats chapter, said he and other students have been doing what they can to support the broader community and deliver supplies. 

“On Saturday, we went to our office and got all the water that was out and just drove down to some of the places in town that were most affected, and just started handing water out,” he said.

Yordy said state Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton, an alumni of App State, reached out on Saturday and connected him with NC Representative Laura Budd, who on Monday sent a supply truck to Boone filled with water and other supplies.

“Half the truck was filled with water, it was a semi-truck, and the other half was filled with other donations — canned food, cleaning supplies, pet food, lots of baby supplies,” Yordy said. “We took that at Watauga High School, just me and a few other App Dems were there. Representative Ray Pickett and the principal arrived around 7:30, and we started coordinating on where it was going to go and how we were going to organize it, and how we’re going to get volunteers there.”

Yordy said that water seems to be the most pressing need for the community at the moment. He also believes it’s important that people stay out of the town as it begins a long recovery process.

“We really don’t want people coming here because that puts a strain on resources,” he said.

While the true death toll and economic impact from Helene won’t be fully known for some time, one week after it devastated western North Carolina, it’s clear the region faces a yearslong recovery process — one that will require a sustained partnership of the federal, state and local governments.

“We are going to need federal help to rebuild. Right now, we have federal help on an emergency basis. Bringing in resources, as well as the state… it’s all hands on deck,” Mayor Manheimer of Asheville said on Tuesday.

For Capps, the storm is a defining moment for her community and the wider western NC region. 

“There will be, from now on, a time before and after the flood,” she said.

Author

  • Dylan Rhoney

    Dylan Rhoney is an App State grad from Morganton who is passionate about travel, politics, history, and all things North Carolina. He lives in Raleigh.

CATEGORIES: WEATHER
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