What to know
- At least 215 people are known to have died as a result of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene since it made landfall in Florida a week ago.
- More than half of the deaths were in North Carolina, where several feet of fast-moving water destroyed entire communities.
- Hundreds are still missing, and officials have reported difficulties in identifying some of the dead.
- President Joe Biden visited North Carolina yesterday and announced that up to 1,000 active-duty soldiers will join the North Carolina National Guard in delivering supplies, food and water to isolated communities.
- If you would like to help donate to survivors of Helene, several organizations, including the Red Cross and National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, are seeking assistance from the public.
- NBC News Lite, a lightweight version of NBCNews.com available in emergency situations when internet connectivity may be limited, has been turned on for readers in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama.
Vigil held for dead and missing Impact Plastics employees
Behind a grocery store in Erwin, Tennessee, a small town was united in grief.
Families of missing and dead Impact Plastics employees held a vigil to honor loved ones who died in last week’s catastrophic flooding at the plastics factory. Officials confirmed today that four people from the factory have died in the Hurricane Helene floodwaters.
At tonight's vigil, the crowd announced each of the victims’ names as their families lit candles in remembrance, some breaking down in sobs as they knelt before their photos.
Guadalupe Hernandez Corona, the sister of one of the dead workers, Monica Hernandez, tearfully paid tribute to her sister.
“I just want each one of you to remember our families with a smile and remember the good memories you have with them,” Hernandez Corona told vigil attendees. “My sister was a hard worker, a fighter and was always looking out for everyone else.”
She also urged people to work together to find those still missing from the factory.
“Together they went to work, and together they must return,” she said.
Rosa Andrade Reynoso is one of the workers still missing. Anabel Andrade, a relative, said after the vigil that she has been praying hard for closure and for change.
“They are just normal people like you and me, who just happened to go out to work,” she said.
“What we want from this [is] for things to change, for every workplace to have an evacuation plan for anything ... so that this does not happen again, so families are not left wondering.”
Biltmore assessing damage to properties after storm
The historic Biltmore Estate said today that it was still assessing damage after major flooding struck the Asheville, North Carolina, area where it sits.
“Like all of this region, the damage varies by location across our 8,000-acre property. In forested areas, which is a large portion of the estate, wind damage is extensive to grounds and some structures,” it said in a statement.
“The entrance to Biltmore, located in Biltmore Village, and other low-lying areas of the property, such as our farm, experienced significant flooding and damage to buildings.”
A few animals died. Biltmore House, Conservatory, winery, gardens and hotels suffered minimal or no damage.
House Speaker Johnson visits Florida after hurricane
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, visited northern Florida today to talk to first responders and see the damage from Helene, which struck the Big Bend region of the state on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane.
Johnson said in a statement that Congress on Sept. 25 approved $20 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay for damage from the storm, which devastated parts of the South.
Congress that day passed a continuing resolution to keep the government open that gives FEMA access to $20 billion for its disaster relief fund. That stopgap funding bill keeps the government open for three months.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said yesterday that FEMA has funding for immediate needs but faces a funding shortfall for expected costs through the rest of the season. Mayorkas said FEMA “made a significant request of Congress with respect to stable funding for the Federal Emergency Management Administration, which should not be a political issue.”
Yellow jackets swarm after North Carolina floods, prompting need for Benadryl and EpiPens
Severe flooding in western North Carolina as a result of Hurricane Helene has stirred up colonies of yellow jackets, raising the risk of stings.
The rain and floodwater most likely destroyed the insects’ underground nests, in addition to toppling trees or stumps that held nests, said Chris Hayes, an extension associate in urban entomology at North Carolina State University.
“Now they’re out of a home, just like many people are,” Hayes said.
North Carolina health officials said they have bought large amounts of Benadryl and EpiPens to address the problem.
North Carolina hospitals search for missing employees days after Helene
In the days leading up to Hurricane Helene, Dr. Lisa Kaufmann worked around the clock to make sure her North Carolina hospital system was as prepared as possible, stockpiling supplies like water, food, medication and equipment.
But nearly a week after the storm’s ferocious floodwaters destroyed so much of the western part of the state, Kaufmann, the chief medical officer for UNC Appalachian Regional Healthcare System’s three hospitals, said they’re now dealing with another crisis.
Forty-two hospital employees are still unaccounted for, unreachable by phone and possibly stuck in places that are inaccessible.
Pack mules deliver supplies, including ice for insulin, to remote areas of North Carolina
Video shows a team from Mountain Mule Packer Ranch — an organization in North Carolina that specializes in "high altitude, crew-served weapons, and extreme terrain pack animal supply trains" — delivering ice this week to help a man store his insulin.
Mountain Mule Packer Ranch said on Facebook that it is delivering supplies to the mountainous region of Buncombe County, which includes the cites of Asheville and Swannanoa, that was devastated by Hurricane Helene.
The group posted photos of its mule team climbing mountain roads that had been split and washed away by the storm.
FEMA and Homeland Security officials respond to funding criticism
FEMA has responded to criticism from Republicans about the agency’s availability of funds for the rest of this year’s hurricane season after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said FEMA can meet immediate needs but “does not have the funds to make it through the season.”
Critics seized on Mayorkas’ statements to reporters yesterday on Air Force One, saying the Department of Homeland Security spent $600 million on shelters and services for migrants.
A DHS spokesperson responded today to the criticism, saying the claims are “completely false.”
“As Secretary Mayorkas said, FEMA has the necessary resources to meet the immediate needs associated with Hurricane Helene and other disasters,” the spokesperson said. “The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is a completely separate, appropriated grant program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated in any way with FEMA’s disaster-related authorities or funding streams.”
Jaclyn Rothenberg, FEMA’s director of public affairs, reiterated that the agency “has what it needs for immediate response and recovery efforts.”
“As [FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell] has said, she has the full authority to spend against the President’s budget, but we’re not out of hurricane season yet so we need to keep a close eye on it,” Rothenberg posted today on X. “We may need to go back into immediate needs funding and we will be watching it closely.”
4 workers from Tennessee plastics plant now confirmed dead
Four people who were working at Impact Plastics, a facility in Erwin, Tennessee, are now confirmed dead, the Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency said at a news conference today.
One of them was Johnny Peterson, 55, of Erwin. Peterson, whose body was found Monday, died in river flooding caused by Hurricane Helene, according to an obituary hosted by Ledford Funeral Homes. The Nolichucky River is close to the facility where he worked.
His daughter, Alexa Peterson, confirmed her father’s death to NBC News.
Impact Plastics is under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation amid allegations from workers that they weren’t allowed to leave before the flooding began. The company denies the allegations.
'Complete devastation' of transportation and water infrastructure in western North Carolina, governor says
Helene was an “unprecedented, devastating storm” for western North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said today in a news briefing, adding that “complete devastation” to the area’s transportation and water infrastructure is likely to cost billions.
“It’s going to take billions of dollars to make sure that we bring this transportation back up where it needs to be, but we need to take this time to make sure that when we rebuild western North Carolina — and we will — that it’s done in a more resilient way,” Cooper said.
He said that search-and-rescue operations continue and that emergency personnel are working to restore power, repair damaged utilities and deliver food and water to those in need.
At least 98 people in North Carolina have died of storm-related causes. Cooper said the death toll is expected to rise as recovery efforts continue.
Rural North Carolina residents are still waiting for Helene relief
Bottled water, generators and oxygen top the list of supplies needed by crews working to reach people still stranded by Hurricane Helene in Mitchell County, North Carolina.
