Emergency workers scrambled to deliver supplies and restore communications in flooded Asheville, North Carolina, on Sunday, following the widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Helene across the southeastern United States. The storm left residents stranded without shelter and cut off from rescue efforts, with many awaiting urgent aid.
As cleanup operations continued in the storm-battered regions, the death toll rose to at least 84 , while millions were left without power.
In Florida’s Big Bend, where Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, locals attended church services amidst the wreckage, facing damaged homes and darkened places of worship.
Florida’s coastal communities are now grappling with the aftermath, even as more than 1,000 miles away, residents in North Carolina remain isolated by floods and landslides.
North Carolina’s deadliest floods in a century
In Asheville, North Carolina, family members made desperate pleas for help. Jessica Drye Turner, a Texas resident, posted a frantic message on social media, begging for someone to rescue her elderly parents and six-year-old nephew, stranded on their rooftop as floodwaters rose.
Residents discard items from their homes which filled with floodwaters from Hurricane Helene in the Shore Acres neighborhood on Saturday. (AP)
Tragically, the roof collapsed before aid could reach them, and all three perished. “I cannot convey in words the sorrow, heartbreak, and devastation my sisters and I are going through nor imagine the pain before us,” Turner shared in a follow-up post.
Helene, which had already wrought destruction in Florida and Georgia, continued to lash North Carolina and Tennessee with heavy rainfall. The storm triggered the worst flooding in North Carolina in over a century, submerging roads, causing landslides, and stranding communities.
In Buncombe County, home to Asheville, authorities reported 10 confirmed deaths, with more expected as emergency crews struggled to contact families amid communication outages.
Rescue efforts hampered by landslides and blocked roads
With floodwaters rising, water rescues continued throughout Saturday. One of the most dramatic rescues occurred in Tennessee, where patients and staff were airlifted from a hospital rooftop.
Owners and employees of Roy’s Restaurant survey the business that was destroyed by the storm surge, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Steinhatchee, Fla. (AP)
Meanwhile, efforts to deliver supplies to Buncombe County were hindered by mudslides that blocked key highways, including Interstate 40.
The region’s water supplies remained on the other side of the flooded Swannanoa River, leaving the bulk of the county’s 270,000 residents without access to drinking water. “If you will bear with us and be patient one more day… we are pushing as hard as we can to get them up the mountain,” said Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder.
Florida begins rebuilding as churches offer hope amid ruins
In Florida, where Helene first made landfall, many have lost nearly everything they owned. In Perry, congregants at Faith Baptist Church gathered to pray outside amidst hurricane debris. “We have power. We don’t have electricity. Our God has power. That’s for sure,” parishioner Marie Ruttinger remarked. Power outages remain widespread, with 97% of customers in the area still in the dark as of Sunday morning.
Pam Keen cleans up after their house took on water and piles of seaweed from the storm surge, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Steinhatchee, Fla. (AP)
Economic toll expected to be catastrophic
Hurricane Helene, which struck Florida’s Big Bend with 140 mph winds, has left a trail of destruction stretching through Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee. Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp said the aftermath “looks like a bomb went off,” following aerial surveys of the damage.
Boats sit after being pushed ashore by floodwaters from Hurricane Helene. (AP)
The economic toll is expected to be catastrophic, with estimates ranging between $95 billion and $110 billion, according to AccuWeather. Moody’s Analytics anticipates up to $26 billion in property damage. With homes splintered, highways blocked, and dams strained, the full scale of the damage is still being assessed.
Federal aid has been pledged, with President Joe Biden approving disaster declarations for the affected states, allowing federal funding for recovery efforts. Dozens of utility crews from New England were dispatched to aid in restoration efforts.
Hurricane Helene: A deadly reminder of climate change’s impact
With 25 fatalities in South Carolina alone, Helene is the deadliest tropical storm to hit the state since Hurricane Hugo in 1989. The storm is part of an increasingly active Atlantic hurricane season, exacerbated by climate change. Warmer ocean temperatures have allowed storms like Helene to intensify rapidly, transforming them into powerful cyclones.
As the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns of an above-average hurricane season, the impact of Helene serves as a stark reminder of the growing threat posed by such storms.
(with inputs from AP)
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