Short on supplies, power, and patience, storm victims who saw the brutal force of Helene upend their lives have emerged to a new week, facing the daunting challenge of rebuilding.
Some roads and bridges they need to do the job aren’t there. Electricity could be a week away or longer. Emergency services are stretched. The communications infrastructure is in shreds. And neighbors, some of whose own homes are gone, are helping neighbors – all the while worrying about the fate of those from whom they haven’t heard.
At least 102 people have died across six states since Helene, which made landfall in Florida as a mammoth Category 4 hurricane, tore through the Southeast and left millions without power and communications.
North Carolina suffered the highest death toll, at least 42 so far – a grim number that could rise as crews make their way to the hardest hit areas. The most recent fatalities include five deaths reported in Henderson County, along with the death of a sheriff’s deputy in Macon County who was swept away by the storm.
At least 25 storm victims also perished in South Carolina, 17 in Georgia, 11 in Florida, four in Tennessee, and two in Virginia. Hundreds have been reported missing, perhaps unable to leave their location or unable to contact family due to damaged communications infrastructure.
Helene’s path of destruction stretched more than 500 miles, from coastal Florida to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ravaged by the storm, the historic North Carolina mountain community of Asheville is now isolated as hundreds of roads in the Carolinas remain closed, hampering the delivery of badly needed supplies — and making it difficult to get people out.
More than 2 million customers remain without power, according to PowerOutage.us. Power companies are dealing with damaged and blocked roads as they work to restore power to homes and businesses.
President Joe Biden will visit some affected communities later this week, “as soon as it will not disrupt emergency response operations,” the White House said Sunday evening.
San Miguel Times
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