Swannanoa, NC (AP) — Cadaver dogs and search crews waded through knee-deep muck and debris Tuesday in the mountains of western North Carolina looking for more victims. Hurricane Helen A few days later, the storm carved a deadly and destructive path through the southeast.
As Helen’s death toll neared 160, searchers used helicopters to cross washed-out bridges and hike through the wilderness to isolated homes.
Deadliest hurricane in US history. Knocked out the power And cellular service in some towns and cities is making many people frustrated, hotter, and more anxious days into testing. Some cook meals on charcoal grills or go to higher ground in hopes of finding a signal to let their loved ones know they are alive.
In Augusta, Georgia, Sherry Brown was taking a “bird bath” with water collected in the refrigerator by switching her refrigerator from her car’s alternator. In another part of the city, people queued for more than three hours to get water from one of five centers set up to serve more than 200,000 people.
The disaster was especially bad Blue Ridge MountainsAt least 57 people died in and around Asheville, North Carolina. A tourist haven Known for art galleries, breweries and outdoor activities.
“Communities have been wiped off the map,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said at a news conference Tuesday.
AP reporter Julie Walker reports Hurricane Helen’s death toll tops 130 as food, water, electricity and cell service remain a major issue for many.
In Swannanoa, a small community outside Asheville, receding floodwaters revealed cars stacked on top of each other and trailer homes that floated away during the storm. Roads are covered with mud and debris.
Cliff Stewart escaped the two feet of water that poured into his home, wheeling up his wheelchair and sending bottles of medicine floating from room to room. Without electricity and dependent on food from friends, he turned down an offer to help evacuate.
“Where am I going to go?” The Marine Corps veteran said Tuesday. “This is what I have. I don’t want to give it up because what am I going to do? Homeless? I’d rather die here than live homeless.”
What help is being provided?
Exhausted emergency crews worked around the clock to clear roads, restore power and phone service and reach people still trapped by the storm, which killed at least 159 people in six states, including many trapped by fallen trees or flooded cars. houses. Nearly half of the deaths were in North Carolina, and dozens more in South Carolina and Georgia.
President Joe Biden, who is set to survey the devastation in North and South Carolina on Wednesday, estimated the recovery would cost billions.
“We have to start this recovery process,” he said on Tuesday. “People are scared to death. It is urgent.”
More than 150,000 families have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance, and that number is expected to rise rapidly in the coming days, said Frank Matranga, an agency representative.
Nearly 2 million ready meals and one million liters of water have also been sent to the worst affected areas, he said.
The storm unleashed North Carolina’s worst flooding in a century, dumping more than an estimated 2 feet (61 centimeters). the rain places.
Cooper said Tuesday that more than two dozen water plants were shut down and not producing water.
He said Biden has given a “green light” to the mobilization of military assets in the future, which may require active-duty U.S. military units to help with a longer-term recovery.
A portion of Interstate 40, one of the region’s main arteries, reopened Tuesday after a mudslide was cleared, but a landslide near North Carolina’s Tennessee border remained closed.
How some of the hardest hit areas are coping
Residents and business owners wore masks and gloves as they cleared debris Tuesday in Hot Springs, North Carolina, where every building along the small town’s main street was heavily damaged.
Sara Galloway, owner of a deli and gourmet grocery store, said the storm arrived in town frighteningly quickly. She had helped fill the sandbags the night before, but they had turned out to be useless. The water rose so fast that she feared that even if she and the others were in an apartment on the top floor, they would not be safe. They called in a rescue request from the Rapid Water Group.
“They tried to reach us and at the time they couldn’t,” he said. “Fortunately, that’s when the water started receding.”
“It was very challenging to see how quickly it rose and then to see whole buildings floating down the river. It’s something I can’t describe,” she said.
Karina Ramos and Ezekiel Bianchi were overwhelmed by the damage at Black Mountain Mobile Home Park in Swannanoa on Tuesday. The couple, their children and dog fled in the predawn darkness Friday as fast-rising waters of the Swannanoa River began flooding the lower end of the mobile home park. By then, the couple abandoned their three vehicles as trees blocked the roads, all of which were flooded.
“We left everything because we panicked,” Ramos said.
Their children were staying with Ramos’ parents and didn’t even want to see the devastated trailer.
“My daughter was crying and panicking,” Ramos said. “She says she doesn’t want to see toys all over her room, thrown everywhere.”
Mobile service is down
Widespread damage and outages affecting key communications infrastructure left many people without stable access to Internet and cellular service, the Central Communications Commission said.
Mayor Jeb Smathers of Canton, North Carolina, expressed frustration Tuesday that many of his constituents are still without cell phone service, with no clear timetable for when it will be restored.
“People walk the streets of Canton with their phones in the air like a butterfly to catch a cell phone signal,” he told The Associated Press. “Every aspect of this response has been severely crippled by the lack of cell phone connectivity. The one time we needed our cell phones to work, they failed.
Verizon’s crews are working to repair downed cell towers, damaged fiber cables and provide alternative forms of connectivity across the region, the company said in a statement.
AT&T, meanwhile, said it has launched “one of the largest mobilizations of our disaster recovery assets for emergency connectivity support.”
David Zumwald, president and CEO of Broadband Without Borders, said the region’s topography and sprawling population make efforts to restore service more challenging.
Destruction from Florida to Virginia
Helen It washed ashore in Florida late Thursday A Category 4 hurricane and upended life across the Southeast, where deaths were also reported in Florida, Tennessee and Virginia.
Across Georgia, Helen’s inland route knocked out power and disrupted life from Valdosta to Augusta, with lines of cars waiting to get water stretching at least half a mile (0.8 kilometers) down the road on Tuesday.
“It’s tough,” said Christy Nelson, who doesn’t know when her power will be restored. “I’m dying for a hot shower.”
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee visited the eastern part of the state on Tuesday to survey the damage. Looking over the remains of the demolished high school, residents said the governor and his entourage were the first aid they had seen since the storm hit.
“Where was everyone? We were alone here,” said a frustrated local.
At least 36 people have been killed in South Carolina, with Helen passing the state’s total of 35. Hurricane Hugo A landslide north of Charleston in 1989.
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Associated Press reporters Gary D. in Raleigh contributed to this report. Robertson; Kimberlee Krusey in Hampton, Tennessee; Jeffrey Collins in Augusta, Georgia; John Roby in Charleston, West Virginia; Rebecca Santana in New Orleans; Shawn Chen in New York; Colin Long in Washington and John Seaver in Toledo, Ohio.
