Biden is sending US troops to help Helene recover

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – President Joe Biden will make an air tour Wednesday following the devastation of Hurricane Helene as residents here and much of the Southeast take on the arduous task of rebuilding devastated communities, homes and lives.

Biden also approved the deployment of up to 1,000 active-duty U.S. troops to augment North Carolina National Guard members helping with recovery efforts in a state sharply criticized by Helene.

The death toll in the southeast of the country was at least 162 on Wednesday and is expected to rise. In Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, 57 people died. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper was in his state on Tuesday, visiting a local hospital, talking to residents and officials and helping hand out free meals.

“The people of Western North Carolina are inspiring in the most difficult of times,” Cooper said. “We will support them.”

Water authorities have warned that it could take weeks for some areas to get running drinking water. Duke Energy says it has restored more than 1.6 million power outages for customers in the Carolinas thanks to its 24/7 power restoration efforts. Still, nearly 900,000 homes and businesses remained without power in both states on Wednesday; another 450,000 were dark in Florida, Georgia, Virginia and West Virginia.

Hurricane Helene made landfall late Thursday on the shores of Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 monster. The winds died down, but unrelenting rains drenched a wide swath of the already saturated Southeast. Flash floods from streams and rivers destroyed homes and businesses, collapsed roads and took victims away from their families.

As the waters receded, damage to infrastructure became more and more visible.

“We are starting to see some of this damage,” Duke Energy spokesman Bill Norton wrote on social media. “We had entire substations that were underwater.”

Storm Tracker: The NHC says Hurricane Kirk is gaining strength and is forecast to become even larger

Development:

∎ US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said the regional cleanup would be a “multi-billion dollar undertaking” and would take years.

∎ USA TODAY released a resource map of the Asheville, North Carolina area that shows where residents can find shelter, water, food and more. The tool is available here.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has opened an investigation into a plastics manufacturer in Erwin where several employees were swept away by floodwaters in Helene, the Knoxville News Sentinel has learned. Two women belonging to the group died, said the immigrant group for workers’ families. At least three people are missing. Impact Plastics workers say management did not allow workers to leave the plant even after warnings were issued and flooding from the Nolichucky River began to inundate the building. The company denies this complaint.

The office confirmed to The News Sentinel – known as Knox News, part of the USA TODAY Network – that District Attorney Steve Finney requested an investigation into the company, but provided no details. Read more here.

− Tyler Whetstone, USA TODAY NETWORK

The troops Biden approved deploying to North Carolina have the manpower and logistical capabilities “to accomplish this critical task at short notice,” the president said in a statement.

“These soldiers will accelerate the delivery of life-saving food, water and medicine to isolated communities in North Carolina,” Biden said.

The North Carolina Air National Guard said Wednesday it had delivered more than 50,000 pounds of food, water and other essential items to Helene victims as part of a coordinated relief effort with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. More than 760 North Carolina Guard Soldiers and Airmen assisted in hurricane relief efforts by air and ground, conducting search and rescue missions, delivering supplies and clearing roads.

− Joey Garrison

Helene’s deadly and destructive rampage across the Southeast last week eliminated any hopes for a peaceful hurricane season for the United States. There’s still a lot of the season ahead of us, and “October is a historically active month, especially in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and off the southeastern coast of the United States,” said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane research scientist at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School. McNoldy said it doesn’t take a major hurricane to cause major damage.

“A slowly progressing, disorganized disturbance that may not develop into a tropical storm could dump several meters of rain over an area and cause terrible flash flooding,” he said. He added that concerns about Rainfal in the past “have taken a backseat to the threat of wind in people’s minds, even though it was more deadly.” Read more here.

− Doyle Rice

A son who traveled 18 miles into the Blue Ridge Mountains to locate his parents. A pastor and a group of parishioners who navigate collapsed roads to help stranded residents. Strangers meet online and coordinate each other’s searches for missing loved ones.

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, one of the worst storms the United States has seen in the modern era, people in the devastated Southeast and elsewhere demonstrated unwavering determination, heroism and compassion.

“We had an incredible response,” said Paul McGinnis, pastor of Grace Chapel Foursquare Church in Forest City, North Carolina. Read more here.

− Christopher Cann and Phaedra Trethan

Triumphs after tragedy: Heroes helping hands out of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene

Despite gigantic clean-up efforts, the sadness remained overwhelming. In the town of Swannanoa, 20 miles east of Asheville, Jessica Dixon was searching for her father, who she believed had been swept to his death by a raging torrent behind their home.

“Dad went to the back to get my mom’s purse,” said Dixon, 40. “Then all I heard was Parker (her son) say, ‘Grandpa’s gone. Grandpa is not here». And it was washed away.”

In the mountains of western North Carolina – one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Helene – moms are doing what they do best: caring for others. Local Facebook groups, previously filled with recommendations for weekend activities and second-hand clothing offers, are now flooded with moms willing to go the extra mile to help each other – even when they themselves are in dire need.

They share formula and baby wipes. They give books and toys to their children. They offer baby cots, mattresses and meals. One mom even suggested frozen breast milk. Kate Patterson, a mother of two young children, has spent the past few days going door to door checking the health of people living in remote, rural areas around Boone.

“You just see a need and you do it,” she said. “There is no point in sitting and waiting. You just kick it into high gear.”

− Karol Trepany

The hurricane destroyed their cities: These North Carolina moms are saving each other.

Biden was scheduled to meet with officials and first responders in the Carolinas on Wednesday and said he planned to visit Georgia and Florida soon. Biden promised to “build back better and stronger” in the areas devastated by Helene.

“I’m on my way to South Carolina and North Carolina,” he tweeted early Wednesday morning. “The Biden-Harris administration is already here. And we won’t leave until the job is done.”

Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to visit Georgia on Wednesday and said she would also visit North Carolina soon. Former President Donald Trump visited Georgia on Monday.

According to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center, a tropical disturbance that moves into the Gulf of Mexico may develop into a tropical depression by the end of the week or weekend. After that, it will still be too early to tell where it is heading or how much it will strengthen, but residents across the Gulf Coast have been advised to monitor the system closely and be prepared.

AccuWeather warned that Florida “could be a prime target” for any developing system next week.

Hurricane Kirk is also raging in the Atlantic basin and there is a tropical wave south of the Cape Verde Islands. Kirk is expected to become a major hurricane by Thursday, but is not expected to pose a threat to the United States. The tropical wave is expected to develop into a tropical depression within a few days, slowly moving westward. Its purpose remains unclear.

– Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida

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Authorities said access to safe and drinking water remains a major issue in western North Carolina. About 160 boil-water advisories were still in effect and 27 water utilities were closed late Tuesday. Buncombe County Medical Director Jennifer Mullendore said any tap water on a boil water advisory should be boiled for one minute before being consumed in any form. Non-potable water should only be used to flush toilets, and rainwater should be considered undrinkable and unsafe for drinking, Mullendore said.

There is still no timetable for water returns in Asheville, said Deputy City Manager Ben Woody, adding that it will be “weeks” before water starts flowing again.

More than 100 nurses and doctors from across the country are helping at Mission Hospital in Asheville, said HCA Healthcare system spokesman Harlow Sumerford. HCA also provides Mission Hospital with hundreds of thousands of bottles of water, tens of thousands of gallons of fuel and satellite data networks.

The hospital, located on a hill south of downtown Asheville, escaped the flooding that submerged much of Buncombe County but is struggling to keep up with the influx of patients from several counties.

“We are under a lot of pressure,” said Greg Lowe, president and CEO of Mission Health. “Our staff are struggling due to fatigue.”

Contributor: Reuters