On Tuesday morning, emergency rescue personnel began arriving in areas cut off from the outside world due to road collapses, paralyzed infrastructure, and flooding following the havoc wreaked by Hurricane “Helene,” searching for the missing individuals.
Just a few days ago, Hurricane “Helene” made landfall on the US East Coast as a Category 4 hurricane with winds reaching up to 140 miles per hour, causing catastrophic flooding in multiple southeastern states, with the death toll steadily rising to 133.
White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall stated during a briefing on Monday that as of Monday afternoon, as many as 600 individuals were still missing in the disaster area, with some of them possibly already deceased.
As of early Tuesday morning, tens of thousands of people from Florida to Virginia remained without power.
In the western region of North Carolina, residents found themselves in distress as roads were washed out, power and cellphone services disrupted, queuing up for fresh water in the days following the storm, using the opportunity to check in with loved ones.
Asheville, a vibrant city nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, known for its artistic atmosphere and historic architecture including the Basilica of Saint Lawrence and the sprawling 19th-century Biltmore Estate showcasing masterpieces by Renoir, now lay in ruins. Numerous homes were completely destroyed, containers flattened, roads in a muddy mess, with Hurricane “Helene” virtually isolating Asheville from the outside world. At least 40 people have died in Asheville and its surrounding county.
Mayor Esther Manheimer of Asheville expressed, “We’re truly in a desperate situation, people are scared, in need of resources, they need help.”
Post-disaster reconstruction efforts began on Monday, starting with repairing multiple major roads washed out or blocked by landslides. Workers tirelessly restored cellphone signal towers and power facilities around the clock. Government officials and relief organizations shipped supplies to the hard-hit tourist center of Asheville and its surrounding mountain towns by aircraft, trucks, and even mules.
A family of six shared their experience with NewsNation after discovering their home destroyed by the storm: they initially intended to weather Hurricane “Helene” at their residence but were urged to evacuate immediately as water levels rose.
Rain and landslides left their Asheville home unrecognizable, unfit for habitation. Inside the house, furniture was scattered and the ground covered in mud.
With their home damaged, unable to go online or attend school, the family’s four children remained unable to return to campus.
Jesse Kern tearfully recounted, “I cried, tears flowed like a spring, unable to accept the devastation, we’ve lived here for six years, all we’ve worked for and accumulated is gone in an instant.”
He remarked they now had to start from scratch.
His wife Dana Wunsch comforted him, saying, “It’s okay, we have each other, we’ll be fine, we’ll get through this, the situation might worsen, but we’ll stay positive.”
The family has been staying in a nearby shelter, receiving food and water by air. Their current goal is to send Wunsch and her four children to Ohio to stay with her family, while Kern stays behind to care for their several dogs.
President Biden announced he would visit North Carolina on Wednesday to meet with officials and survey Asheville by plane, expressing hope to not interrupt “assistance to local rescue operations.”
He previously pledged that the federal government would do everything possible to aid residents affected in the US Southeast. He also planned to visit Georgia and Florida.
States in the disaster area have declared states of emergency to receive federal assistance.
(Reporting referenced from “The Hill”)