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    • Drone footage shows historic destruction in Asheville, NC after Helene
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    Drone footage shows historic destruction in Asheville, NC after Helene

    Vaseline Posted on

    Severe weather and historic flooding caused by Hurricane Helene have killed at least 100 people across the southeastern country, including in Asheville, North Carolina, where residents are scrambling for resources amid gas and water shortages.

    Since the system made landfall late Thursday in Florida’s Big Bend area, hundreds of water rescues have taken place in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. Power outages left more than 2 million homes and businesses in the dark from Monday.

    In Asheville, heavy rain destroyed vehicles and homes, while flooding roads. At least 35 people have died in Buncombe County, which includes Asheville, although the death toll is expected to rise, the sheriff said Monday. Officials have also received about 600 missing person reports, although many are believed to be due to communications disruptions.

    Helene also severely damaged the city’s water system, Asheville officials said in a statement Saturday.

    “Extensive repairs are required to treatment facilities, underground and above-ground water lines, and to washed-out roadways that prevent water personnel from accessing portions of the system,” the city of Asheville said in the statement.

    View drone footage of flooding in Asheville, North Carolina

    Estimates: Helene caused between $15 and $100 billion in damage

    Insurers and forecasters have predicted that the catastrophic damage caused by Helene will amount to somewhere between $15 billion and $100 billion.

    “We have biblical devastation in the county,” said Ryan Cole, deputy director of Buncombe County Emergency Services. “We’ve had biblical floods here.”

    President Joe Biden has sent Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to remain on site in Asheville “until the situation stabilizes,” the agency said Monday.

    “We will continue to provide resources, including food, water, communications and life-saving equipment will be there,” Biden said. “I mean it, as long as it takes to get this job done.”

    FEMA said there were 10 federal search and rescue teams in the region on Monday and nine teams were on the way with a total of 900 active personnel. The agency will also bring essential items to the ground, including 25 trailer loads of meals, 60 trailer loads of water and a C-17 cargo plane full of food and water. The agency also uses Starlink satellites to improve communications between emergency responders and has 18 helicopters on standby to deliver more needed resources.

    North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper also brought more than 500 National Guard soldiers and airmen, as well as more than 200 vehicles and aircraft, to help save lives in the affected areas.

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