Western NC Update: As Things Come Into Focus, The Scale Of The Catastrophe Is Staggering
One of the worst disasters in American history is unfolding in the mountains of North Carolina
We’re starting to get a better idea of the damage Helene has done to Western North Carolina.
This has affected more than a third of the counties in this state. At least 35 are confirmed dead in Buncombe County and at last count, 1,000 people could not be found, but that is expected to go down.
Part of the problem is still communication. The cell system is damaged and power is still out for too many people. With the damage to the roads, getting power back up is going to be very difficult.
A few places have some power now, and some locations have allowed people to charge their devices and to use WiFi to get word out to loved ones.
Food, shelter and medical care are the immediate concerns. There are many people who require medical care and medicine and they won't be getting that anytime soon. You can imagine the fear of someone who is diabetic or on dialysis, or a parent who has a child with a difficult condition.
As you can see in this article from the Charlotte Observer, people are indeed desperate and frightened and feel abandoned. One person mentioned relies on an oxygen tank. That person is currently out of luck.
Angela McGee says “[w]here is FEMA at when we need it? We are down here in a disaster and no one is helping us out.”
Shemsuddin Millard says “[m]aybe the hard part is hoping that there’s some sort of lifeline and wondering if that’s there, but then kind of being faced with the reality that: No, there is not. Might as well just f—ing laugh about it. Because, you know, what else is there? I already cried.”
This guy hiked 11 miles in to check on his elderly parents. Fortunately, they were okay but he witnessed tremendous damage and loss along the way.
As always, the poor suffer most. Look at this woman who can’t clean her nebulizer, a device that clears the mucus from her throat after she underwent a tracheotomy.
Relief is starting to get in, although in limited quantities. A tanker truck is in Canton with water, but residents are limited to one gallon per person per day. Power will be back on soon for most people, but it’ll be awhile before everyone is back up.
Verizon is putting up a portable tower in Asheville but it has limited range.
You certainly can’t say things are getting back to normal but food and water are basics. Shelter is too, but that will take awhile.
The devastation is everywhere and massive help is needed. If you haven't yet, please consider giving. Here’s a list of places you can contact.
By the way, no one has really mentioned this, but all that water will have to go downstream, which means that the flooding is probably not yet over. It’ll just relocate. We have a lot ahead of us.
- Supplies rushed to communities isolated by Helene as death toll rises to at least 107
- Epic flooding in North Carolina’s ‘own Hurricane Katrina’
- In North Carolina, Remnants of Helene Become an ‘Unprecedented Tragedy’
- In the wake of deadly Helene, western NC thirsts for water
- ‘It was really surreal’: North Carolina residents watched floods lift cars, buildings
- Western North Carolina devastation viewed from above
- Officials are calling the North Carolina flood disaster ‘unprecedented’
- Helene leaves ‘biblical devastation’ as death toll climbs to 90: Updates