North Carolina receives supplies via aircraft and mule as death count from Helene exceeds 130

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The aftermath of Hurricane Helene, one of the most destructive storms in U.S. history, was laid bare on Monday. The South was transformed into a scene of ‍utter devastation, with​ shattered homes, ‌squashed cargo containers, and highways buried under mud. The death toll has now exceeded 130.

In western North⁣ Carolina, a humanitarian⁣ crisis was unfolding. Residents, cut off by destroyed roads and without power or cell service,‍ queued on Monday for clean water and the opportunity to reassure their loved ones that they had survived the‍ storm.

The storm, ‍which wreaked havoc from Florida’s ​Gulf Coast to the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, has been linked to at least 132 ⁣deaths across six Southeastern states.

On Monday, the death toll continued⁢ to rise as rescue workers reached areas cut off by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure, and extensive flooding. During⁢ a ⁤briefing, White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall revealed that as many as 600 people were ‌still unaccounted for by Monday afternoon,​ suggesting some may have perished.

President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit North Carolina on Wednesday.

Government‌ officials and⁤ aid organizations are striving to ⁣deliver essential supplies⁤ by air, truck, ‌and even ⁢mule to Asheville,⁣ a popular tourist destination, and its neighboring mountain towns. The county that encompasses Asheville has seen at least 40 fatalities.

The scale ​of the destruction and despair is⁢ staggering. A squashed cargo container was perched on a bridge over a river filled with muddy brown water. Overturned pontoon boats, shattered​ wooden docks, and tree trunks littered ‍the surface of a scenic lake nestled between the mountains.

‘A ​Silver Lining Amidst the Chaos’

A mother‍ held her child close as people ‍around her congregated on ‌a hillside where⁣ they found cell⁤ service, many sending a simple ‌text: ⁤”I’m OK.”

The death toll in North‌ Carolina​ includes numerous ⁢tragic stories of people ⁣trapped by floodwaters in their homes and vehicles or killed by ‌falling trees. A courthouse security officer drowned inside his submerged truck. A couple and a 6-year-old boy waiting for rescue on a ⁣rooftop drowned when part of their home collapsed.

Despite the grim⁢ circumstances, rescuers were able to‌ save many ⁢lives,‌ including ​an infant and two others stranded on top of a car in Atlanta. Over 50 hospital patients and staff members in‍ Tennessee were airlifted from a hospital rooftop in a daring rescue operation.

Several main routes into Asheville were ⁣washed away or blocked‌ by mudslides, including a 4-mile section of Interstate 40. The city’s water system was severely damaged, forcing residents to collect creek water ⁣in buckets for flushing toilets.

In one neighborhood, a wall of water swept away all the trees, leaving behind a⁤ muddy mess. Despite the ‍devastation, people shared food and water ⁣and comforted each other. “That’s the silver lining amidst the chaos,” said Sommerville Johnston, whose home has been without‍ power‌ since Friday.

‘Community Spirit‌ in the Face​ of Adversity’

Johnston planned to ‍share venison⁣ stew from her powerless freezer with the neighborhood before it spoils. “Just ​bring your bowl and spoon,” she said.

Others queued for‌ more than a block at ​Mountain Valley Water, a water seller, to fill up milk jugs⁤ and any other containers they could find.

Derek Farmer, who brought⁢ three gallon-sized apple juice containers, admitted he had been prepared for the storm but was now ‍anxious after three days without water. “I just didn’t realize how severe it was going ⁤to be,” Farmer said.

Hurricane‍ Helene made landfall in northern Florida⁤ late Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane and quickly moved through Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee, bringing torrential rains that flooded waterways.

On Monday, Federal Emergency ​Management Agency officials‍ reported that hundreds‍ of ‍roads were closed across⁢ western North Carolina and that shelters were housing more than 1,000 people.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper took an aerial tour of the ‌Asheville area and later met​ with workers distributing meals.

“This has been an unprecedented storm that⁣ has hit western North ‌Carolina,” he said afterward. “It’s requiring an unprecedented response.”

Officials urged travelers to avoid the region for the next several days to keep the roads clear for emergency vehicles. More than 50 search teams spread throughout the region in search of stranded people.

Several dozen people⁤ gathered on high ground in Asheville, where they‌ found one of the city’s most sought-after commodities‍ — a cell signal.

“Is this day three or day four?” Colleen Burnet asked. “It’s all​ been a blur.”

The storm‌ caused the worst flooding in a century in North⁢ Carolina. Rainfall estimates in some areas exceeded​ two feet since Wednesday.

President Biden announced he will travel to Raleigh ‍on Wednesday to meet with officials and take an aerial tour of Asheville.

He ⁢previously stated that the federal government would stand by the survivors and others in the southeast affected ‌by Helene “as⁣ long as it takes.”

Ten federal⁤ search and rescue teams were ⁣on the ground, with another nine on their way. Trucks and cargo planes were arriving with food and water,⁢ according to ‍the Federal Emergency‌ Management Agency.

FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell surveyed the damage with North Carolina’s governor on Monday.

Volunteers were also stepping up. Mike Toberer decided to bring a dozen of his mules to deliver food, water, ⁤and ‌diapers to hard-to-reach mountainous areas.

“We’ll take our chainsaws, and we’ll push those mules through,” he said, noting that each mule can carry about 200 pounds and travel 2 mph.

Western North Carolina⁤ bore the‌ brunt​ of​ the devastation because that’s where the remnants of‌ Helene met the higher elevations and cooler air of the Appalachian Mountains,‍ causing even more rain to‍ fall.

Asheville and many surrounding mountain towns were built in valleys, making them particularly susceptible to⁤ devastating rain ⁢and flooding. Plus, the ground was already saturated before Helene arrived, ‍said Christiaan Patterson, a meteorologist with the​ National Weather Service.

“By the time Helene came into the Carolinas, we already had ‍that rain on top⁤ of more rain,” Patterson said.