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In the wake of Hurricane Helene, questions about government response emerge
The Federal Emergency Management Agency reported today that it had delivered about 1 million liters of water and more than 600,000 meals to North Carolina. More than 5,000 households have contacted FEMA to apply for assistance by phone and online.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who joined North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper in Asheville today, said more than 1,200 federal workers are now on the ground, responding to one of the worst disasters in North Carolina’s history, vowing: “We are going to be here as long as it takes to finish this response and continue through the recovery.”
But some residents have criticized what they view as a lack of preparation for the catastrophic storm.
Devonna Brown, an Asheville business owner, said she felt the city failed its residents. “They should have been more prepared. They knew that this storm was coming,” she said. “We’re very frustrated by it. I mean, there’s no way to get in, no way to get out.”
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Asheville mayor: 'This is the biggest test we've ever faced'
Calling it the “biggest test we’ve ever faced,” Asheville, North Carolina, Mayor Esther Manheimer said she expects the road to recovery will be long and difficult.
Asheville has essentially been cut off from the world with washed-out roads, highways and bridges, and it is without power or cellphone service in many places, meaning residents are struggling to get the resources they need to survive day-to-day, she said.
The biggest need? Water.
“Our most pressing need after lifesaving measures is water. We have our water systems down,” Manheimer said.
She continued: “We need to be able to bring in drinking water. That started happening on a large scale today, and we’re going to need to continue that effort because we could see a loss of our water distribution system for possibly weeks.”
Asheville and surrounding Buncombe County were devastated by Hurricane Helene. Earlier today, county officials confirmed 40 deaths in the area.
Manheimer also said Asheville residents are struggling to receive everyday items needed for survival like food, baby formula and cleaning supplies. Distributing resources to residents has been complicated by the lack of power and cellphone service.
“If you’re stranded in an area that … is not reachable yet because your road is washed out and people are still looking for you and they haven’t heard from you, we're still in that situation right now,” she said.
Manheimer said she spoke earlier today to President Joe Biden, who promised federal support and the necessary assistance until Asheville is in the clear.
Manheimer said that despite all the challenges, first responders and volunteers are meeting the moment.
“People here have been amazing,” Manheimer said. “Our first responders working around the clock. It has truly been astonishing to see. It’s amazing. We’re a strong community, but this is the biggest test we’ve ever faced.”
N.C. governor: Help is here
After briefing President Joe Biden on the situation on the ground in his storm-ravaged state, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper tonight sought to reassure constituents that an army of help was on the job.
"This is an unprecedented response and an absolutely enormous coordinated effort by state, federal and local partners," he said on X.
Despite not having a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico, where Helene made landfall in Florida, North Carolina got the worst of the storm during its slow march north, with Helene flooding communities in the western part of the state and causing debilitating damage to Asheville's water infrastructure.
The death toll for the state tonight was 49, a vast majority from the Ashville region.
More than 386,000 utility customers remained without power tonight, and cellphone service was such a challenge that federal officials have brought 30 Starlink satellite receivers to the state to help residents reconnect, with 10 more on the way, Biden said at an evening briefing.
Cooper said power has been restored to 500,000 utility customers, Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel have distributed 1 million liters of water and 600,000 meals, and first responders and other personnel have come to help from 18 states.
"The scope of our challenge is unprecedented," he said, "but so, too, is our response."
400 female offenders moved from 2 North Carolina correctional faclities over lack of power and water
About 400 female offenders have been moved from two correctional facilities in North Carolina because of lack of power and water, authorities said today.
The offenders were moved from the Correctional Center for Women in Swannanoa and the Black Mountain Substance Abuse Treatment Center for Women, the state Department of Adult Correction said.
About 360 minimum-custody offenders were moved to the Anson Correctional Institution in Polkton, and others were moved to the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh, officials said.
Forty-five offenders who were receiving in-patient treatment at the Black Mountain treatment center were moved to the North Piedmont Confinement in Lexington, officials said.
In some places, fewer than 10% of cellphone service sites are working
Some of the victims of Hurricane Helene are cut off from the outside world.
Beyond collapsed roads and bridges, many affected areas, especially in western North Carolina, have experienced severe to total communications blackouts, as cell towers and internet services are down from the hurricane and subsequent flooding, power outages and landslides.
Edward Hinson, the chief marketing and sales officer at SkyLine/SkyBest, a small telecommunications company that provides TV and internet service to rural western North Carolina, said the damage to the communications infrastructure there is catastrophic.
“It’s hard to foresee what the next stages look like, because we’re still just assessing so much damage,” he told NBC News. “I don’t know how to articulate how bad the damage is.”
Death toll grows to at least 125 as Biden promises help
The death toll from Hurricane Helene rose to at least 125 today, according to a tally from NBC News.
The number continued to increase amid search efforts in flood-ravaged communities. The number of deaths included 49 in North Carolina, 29 in South Carolina, 25 in Georgia, 12 in Florida, eight in Tennessee and two in Virginia.
At a briefing tonight about federal help for response and recovery, Biden offered condolences to victims' families and expressed empathy for those whose loved ones are missing. "It’s almost equally as bad missing, not knowing whether your brother, sister, husband, wife, son, daughter are alive," he said.
He said thousands of federal personnel were in storm-ravaged states to assist with searches and rescues, debris removal, power restoration and reconnection of cellphone service.
Biden said that 30 Starlink receivers that facilitate cellphone service through satellites have been delivered to western North Carolina and 10 more were en route. Federal resources also helped North Carolina reopen 220 roads, he said.
"To the survivors, I want you to know the administration is going to be there, and we just talked about this, until we finish the job," Biden said.
Tennessee plastics plant employees were trapped by flooding, and now some of them are among the missing
Floodwaters from Hurricane Helene trapped workers at an eastern Tennessee plastics factory, with several family members learning today that their loved ones didn’t survive.
Some of the workers’ relatives got frantic video phone calls from their loved ones as the water swelled around Impact Plastics in Erwin, where some workers were swept away from the parking lot next to the Nolichucky River.
The families and friends had been posting desperate pleas on social media for help in finding their loved ones. Some showed up at a news conference carrying photos of the missing and pressed authorities to help find them.
Slowly, their postings were updated to say that their loved ones, several of them Latino, had died.
According to reports on social media, the workers were trapped outside the building, which was surrounded by fast-moving floodwater that kept them from leaving.
The agonizing wait continues for families missing loved ones in Tennessee
Desperate family members were waiting for word on more than 150 people still missing after flooding hit Tennessee. Some of the missing were in a plastics factory that was flooded.
Vice President Kamala Harris visited FEMA headquarters today to thank workers for their efforts after the hurricane.
“We will continue to do everything we can to help you recover and to help you rebuild no matter how long it takes,” she said.