An exhaustive search operation has resumed in North Carolina

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Search and rescue efforts in western North Carolina made some progress Tuesday as authorities worked to clear roads and provide electricity, running water and cell service to communities struggling with the furious onslaught of Hurricane Helene and its remnants.

The storm killed more than 100 people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia, and the death toll is expected to rise as recovery efforts continue. Hundreds of people have been reported missing and the number is expected to fall as telecommunications networks return and rescuers reach remote areas.

President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit North Carolina and South Carolina on Wednesday for a briefing with local emergency management and emergency officials. Biden, who will conduct air tours after the destruction, also promised on social media that he would travel to Georgia and Florida “as soon as possible.”

In North Carolina, more than 1,500 state transportation workers were on Thursday in 1,500 trucks armed with 1,000 chain saws, working to clear roads.

“As we begin another day of storm rescue and relief efforts, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all first responder teams who are helping save lives,” the state’s emergency management offices said in a social media post Tuesday, adding: “stay safe.”

Jannette Montenegro was covered in mud while cleaning her historic Cotton Mill Studios building as water receded in Asheville’s severely flooded River Arts District.

“We tried to get out as much as we could, but no one expected it,” she said.

Tropical Storm Tracker: Hurricane Center watching Kirk and 2 other disturbances in the Atlantic

Development:

∎ As of Tuesday, former President Donald Trump’s fundraiser for Hurricane Helene victims had raised over $3 million. Read more here.

∎ About 1.5 million homes and businesses in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia remained without power early Thursday morning.

∎ Officials in Buncombe County, North Carolina, where Asheville is located, said there have been 40 confirmed deaths so far. The Associated Press reported that the nationwide death toll in Helene was at least 133.

∎ The North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections has determined that all inmates are safe. The department said several facilities were using the generator, but none were flooded.

Biden will visit North Carolina: He tours Helene’s destruction as Trump scolds the response

North Carolina elections officials are working hard to ensure that more than 7 million registered voters can cast ballots on November 5, despite extensive damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure in the western part of the state. North Carolina elects its governor, congressional representatives and state legislature and is one of several battleground states that could elect the next U.S. president.

“The devastation is unprecedented and the level of uncertainty so close to Election Day is overwhelming,” Karen Brinson-Bell, chairwoman of the state Board of Elections, said Tuesday.

She said she expected a full assessment of the storm’s impact on polling facilities and other issues by the end of the week. But she said Helene “will not stop the way we conduct elections. Just because the hurricane came, we might have to do it a little differently.”

SUWANNEE, Fla. – Billie Mincks loves this little coastal community. However, after last year’s blows from Hurricane Idalia and now Hurricane Helene, he thinks it’s time to go. When he spoke to USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida after Idalia, he didn’t know how long he would be displaced. Unlike some residents of the roughly 300-person Dixie County community, his rental home was completed and he and his wife, Tori Johnston, returned to live there. Then Helena came, and when he returned to his house, he found it destroyed.

“I just can’t do this again,” Mincks said as she waited for food and other supplies from aid organizations. “Helene was much worse, making Idalia look like a petty person.” Read more here.

− Douglas Soule, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida

In hard-hit Erwin, Tennessee, a group of Impact Plastics workers clung to spools of flexible yellow plastic pipe in the back of a truck for hours, waiting for help as the swollen Nolichucky River raged around them. A truck overturned and at least seven people were kidnapped and reported missing or dead.

Jacob Ingram, who has worked at Impact Plastics for almost eight months, said that when water levels rose outside, managers did not allow employees to leave. Instead, managers told workers to move their cars away from the rising water levels, Ingram said. The company denied telling employees not to leave.

“We are devastated by the tragic loss of great employees,” founder and CEO Gerald O’Connor said in a statement.

− Tyler Whetsone, Knoxville News Watchdog

A shocking story from factory workers: Helene was swept away by the flood

Forecasters warned that Hurricane Helene would become a “once in a generation” storm for parts of Appalachia, and the forecast turned out to be tragically accurate. Helene’s rainfall would have been enough to cause flooding anywhere, but was exacerbated by a front that stalled over the Appalachians ahead of Tropical Storm Helene’s arrival, said David Easterling, a rainfall expert at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and Atmospheric Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina.

The mountains themselves have added to the rainfall in some places because they contribute to uplift that produces more rain during a storm, Easterling said. Strong winds knocked down trees and took down power lines, as well as mudslides and landslides that knocked down poles throughout the area, he added.

“You just catch a mudslide and you could have 5 to 3 feet of mud,” he said. “It is impossible to say how many deaths there were.” Read more here.

− Doyle Rice and Dinah Voyles Pulver

Helene’s brutal toll: Over 100 dead; Biden to survey damage: Monday updates

MARSHALL, N.C. – Marshall was a bustling Appalachian town with large department stores before its fortunes declined and its buildings became vacant. However, in recent years it has undergone a rebirth, renewed by an influx of art, music and restaurants. Once a ruined prison, it has been transformed into a boutique hotel and restaurant.

Now the city center has been devastated by Hurricane Helene: the streets are full of thick mud. Disfigured remains. Twisted train tracks and overturned vehicles.

Residents in Marshall – like elsewhere in western North Carolina just days after the storm – are struggling to find what they need without power or phones as National Guard helicopters buzz over the area.

“This is a tragedy,” Keaton Griffin said as he dumped mud and debris onto a wheelbarrow. Read more here.

− Chris Kenning

On the waterfront of destruction: A North Carolina town is trying to stay afloat

Taylor Houchens moved to Asheville about four years ago for healing. Mountains, forests, lakes – all called for a licensed professional counselor, as did countless others who traveled to the North Carolina city seeking relaxation, reset, and rejuvenation. As a result, Asheville has attracted a thriving local wellness community, including mental health professionals, holistic coaches and healers.

Now, in the wake of Hurricane Helene, that community has been devastated, and Houchens says he’s not sure where to go.

“It’s devastation. It’s the apocalypse. It’s a tragedy,” Houchens, who specializes in trauma therapy, says during a phone call while driving to visit family in Savannah, Georgia. Read more here.

− Karol Trepany

Contributor: Reuters

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An exhaustive search operation has resumed in North Carolina

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