Historic North Carolina village underwater after devastating damage from Helene

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A historic village in western North Carolina is underwater after experiencing devastating flooding damage from Helene.

Tree branches, logs and a dumpster floated across Asheville’s Biltmore Village, renowned for being built and owned by a single individual.

Resident Tammy Borgesen was among the dozens of people standing outside a downtown hotel, one of the few places with Wi-Fi access, hoping to connect with loved ones.

“We’ve been trying to get an email or a text out to just let everybody know we’re OK,” said Borgesen, who had water but no power at her home. 

She said she plans to wait out the storm and “hope for the best.”

“We’re in a weird limbo,” Borgesen said.

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Asheville residents struggle to reach loved ones after Hurricane Helene's devastation

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Water levels reached several feet, with some areas nearing the tops of street signs. Fast-moving water surged above front-door steps, inundating buildings and small businesses as Asheville appeared nearly flattened by Helene.

“We knew the flooding was coming but we didn’t know it was going to be this catastrophic,” one woman at the scene told NBC News. “All of the loss and destruction is just heartbreaking.”

More than 200 people have been rescued from floodwaters in North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said in a statement Saturday. The Department of Transportation said more than 400 roads are closed in the state, impeding travel and rescue efforts.

Asheville, with a population of 95,000 residents, is about 140 miles west of Charlotte.

“This blows my mind, and I’m really worried about friends, neighbors and businesses down here by the river,” a man told NBC News, while partly blaming climate change for the destruction. “It’s just a reminder to me that climate change is going to affect all of us. No one is safe from the impacts of climate change and we really need to take action now.”

The devastation comes as Hurricane Helene landed in Georgia Thursday night, leaving widespread devastation throughout the Southern U.S.

At least 53 people have been confirmed dead as of Saturday and about 3 million customers were without power in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Virginia, according to Poweroutage.us.

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The storm, now a post-tropical cyclone, has severely impacted the Southeast.

More than 50 people were stranded Friday at an eastern Tennessee hospital on Friday due to fast-rising water and high winds, after several attempts to airlift them failed during a dangerous rescue operation.

President Joe Biden has already approved emergency declaration requests from the governors of several Southern states affected by Helene.

Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina will receive a variety of federal assistance from the government after the storm made landfall as a highly destructive Category 4 hurricane.

Biden has also ordered more than 1,500 federal personnel to be deployed to the region, including search-and-rescue teams, medical teams and power restoration teams.