With Interstate 40 partially collapsed near the Tennessee-North Carolina border and a mudslide in McDowell County, the NC Dept of Transportation has closed more than 300 roads.
The U.S. Southeast grappled Sunday with rising death tolls, a lack of vital supplies in isolated, flood-stricken areas and the widespread loss of homes and property while the devastating toll of Hurricane Helene became more clear and officials warned of a lengthy and difficult rebuild.
A North Carolina County that includes the mountain city of Asheville, reported 30 people killed due to the storm, pushing the overall death toll to at least 84 people across several states.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper predicted the toll would rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.
He implored residents in western North Carolina to avoid travel, both for their own safety and to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. More than 50 search teams spread throughout the region in search of stranded people.
“Many people are cut off because the roads are impassable,” Cooper said. Supplies were being airlifted to the region around Asheville, a city in western North Carolina's mountains known for its arts, culture and scenery.
One rescue effort involved saving 41 people north of Asheville. Another mission focused on saving a single infant. The teams found people through both 911 calls and social media messages, North Carolina Adjutant General Todd Hunt said.
The storm upended life throughout the Southeast. Authorities were rushing to airlift supplies and restore communications and roads in flooded Asheville on Sunday as residents along the storm-battered Florida coast gathered for church services.
Hurricane Helene roared ashore with 140 mph (225 kph) winds in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday. From there, it quickly moved through Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday that it “looks like a bomb went off” after viewing splintered homes and debris-covered highways from the air. A weakened Helene then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains, flooding creeks and rivers and straining dams.
Several million were still without power Sunday afternoon. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster asked for patience as crews dealt with widespread snapped power poles.
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