Helene aftermath: Biden directs up to 1,000 soldiers to assist in aid efforts; 190 dead in storm aftermath
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Hundreds of people are still missing as a result of Hurricane Helene and its aftermath, many caught in historic flooding.
This live blog has now ended — you can find the latest updates here.
Tennessee OSHA opens investigation into plastics plant flood deaths
The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration said today that it is investigating deaths of Impact Plastics workers during flooding in Erwin.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has also opened an investigation into allegations about Impact Plastics.
Some workers and their families have said the workers were allowed to leave only when water was already flooding the parking lot and should have been allowed to leave earlier or not been working at all that day.
Workers were swept away by the floodwaters, caused by what was then Tropical Storm Helene, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane.
Asked about the TBI investigation, Impact Plastics said that it will cooperate fully. "The company is conducting its own internal review of events and timelines of September 27th and will share the information once the review is complete," it said in a statement earlier today.
At Asheville’s Mission Hospital, workers describe the dire conditions after the storm
Facing what could be months without a steady water supply, the only solution for Mission Hospital was to dig a well.
The Asheville, North Carolina hospital was crippled after fast-moving Hurricane Helene dumped a record amount of rain in the region over the weekend.
“The entire water infrastructure to the area was obliterated,” said Hannah Drummond, a nurse at the hospital and the chief nurse representative for National Nurses United, the union that represents nurses at Mission Hospital.
The sewage system was so backed up after the storm, Drummond said, that it wasn’t possible to flush toilets.
Access to clean water was also wiped out. Patients were showing up at the hospital drenched in floodwater saturated with gasoline, chemicals and other unknown toxins.
Those people would normally be placed in showers to clean off, Drummond said. Not so after Helene barreled through, knocking out the basics of hygiene.
Biden approves more federal aid for four states
President Joe Biden has amended disaster declarations for Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina so that the federal government pays 100% of the cost of certain categories of help, the White House said today.
Biden “approved 100 percent Federal cost share for debris removal, first responders, search and rescue, shelters, mass feeding, and other emergency response activities” for the four states, its said in a statement.
N.C. parents and 2 kids escape flooded home through laundry room window
A family that includes two young boys swam to a laundry window to escape their flooded North Carolina house and waited on the roof after their block was inundated by Hurricane Helene.
Stephanie and John Zara escaped from their home near Asheville but had to leave their phones, identification and other belongings behind.
“It’s almost indescribable the panic we had,” Stephanie Zara said.
After the water started rising, they had trouble at first but finally were connected with 911 and asked what they should do. “And she says, ‘Get to higher ground,'" Stephanie Zara said.
They went first to the attic with their pets. But John Zara could sense the power of the rushing water below and felt they were in danger.
“He found that small window, by the grace of God, and we swam to it and got out,” Stephanie Zara said.
Photos taken by the couple showed the aftermath of the flooded laundry room from which they escaped and evidence of how high the water was.
A neighbor in a kayak eventually came by and helped them. They have seen flooding on their street before that came up to a front yard, but neither they nor their neighbors expected things to get that bad.
“I just think everyone on our street just never expected it to end up, you know, up to the gutters of our houses,” John Zara said.
They don't have flood insurance and have been told they aren't covered for the flood damage, John Zara said. Their business was also in the home. They're getting some emergency funds from FEMA, just for basic essentials, and are staying with family and friends in South Carolina.
"We have each other," Stephanie Zara said.
A North Carolina mountain town is wrecked by Hurricane Helene
Flattened homes, impassable roads, swamped fields, downed power lines, raw emotions.
Nearly a week after Hurricane Helene pummeled the small mountain town of Swannanoa, 20 miles east of Asheville, residents and business owners were trickling back today to see what was left and what could be salvaged.
Beverly and Baxter Eller barely escaped the floodwaters that reached eye level as they fled their home of 37 years and drove off in search of higher ground, uncertain whether they would ever return.
When they did, they found their home surrounded by a knee-high moat of muddy water, the garage lifted from its foundation and spun around.
North Carolina food bank CEO says community aid has been ‘ray of light’ in Helene relief
NBC News’ Antonia Hylton spoke with the CEO of Manna Food Bank, Claire Neal, about the impact Hurricane Helene has had on North Carolina and how people are coming together to help those affected by the massive storm.
FEMA doesn’t have enough funds to make it through hurricane season, Mayorkas says
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said today that FEMA doesn’t have enough funding to make it through the end of hurricane season.
Mayorkas discussed the devastating impacts from Hurricane Helene, which struck Florida and parts of the South last week, with reporters aboard Air Force One.
“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have,” he said.
“We are expecting another hurricane hitting. We do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season,” he said.
He said the Department of Homeland Security “made a significant request of Congress with respect to stable funding for the Federal Emergency Management Administration, which should not be a political issue.”
The Atlantic hurricane season lasts from June 1 to Nov. 30.
Congress is not in session. Biden said this week that “I may have to request” that it return early to address the issue, though no decision had been made yet.
'Asheville is just not prepared for hurricanes,' resident says
Lorraine Ramsey and her husband said their neighborhood in Swannanoa, North Carolina, east of Asheville, has been “wiped out” by the hurricane that struck almost a week ago.
“We have no heat, we can’t wash our dishes, we have no phones, we can’t call our people — nothing,” Lorraine Ramsey said at a food bank in Asheville today. “We have nothing.”
Some good news is a gas station now has gas, which they can use to power a generator, because Lorraine Ramsey is on oxygen. Neighbors are trying to help one another.
Another woman getting help at the food bank, who gave her name as Dana, said that the storm’s aftermath has been hard but that “we’re a resilient bunch.”
“Asheville is just not prepared for hurricanes,” she said. “We’re very fortunate. We didn’t have any structural damage to the house, no trees fell on it, but Asheville is devastated.”
She said they need water, diapers and communication. “Communication is the hardest thing,” she said. “We just don’t know what’s going on. We don’t know where water is.”
The storm, which made landfall in Florida on Thursday, caused millions of people to lose power across the South.
At around 7 p.m. ET, around 319,000 customers were without power in the state, according to PowerOutage.us, including more than 92,500 homes and businesses in Buncombe County, where Asheville is located.
'This is a multibillion-dollar, multiyear recovery,' Mayorkas says
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the vast devastation left by Hurricane Helene will require a recovery that lasts years and will cost billions of dollars.
“This is a multibillion-dollar, multiyear recovery,” Mayorkas told reporters on Air Force One today, according to a White House transcript of the remarks.
“We have towns that have disappeared, literally,” he said.
Deaths from Hurricane Helene now at 183
The number of deaths from Hurricane Helene or the aftermath of the Category 4 storm is now at least 183, according to an NBC News count of official reports.
Earlier today, it was 179.
The number of known deaths in Buncombe County, North Carolina, grew from 57 to 61, officials said at a news conference. More than 90 people have died in the state.
Officials investigating whether there was a language barrier when Tenn. plant flooded
Officials in Tennessee are investigating whether there was a language barrier at the time a Tennessee plastics plant was flooding, resulting in the deaths of several people, a spokesman for a state management team said today.
“That’s one of the things the 911 director is looking into, when she’s going over the dispatch log and times of dispatch and all of that,” said Myron Jones, a spokesman for the Tennessee All-Hazard Incident Management Team.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is also probing what happened at Impact Plastics in Erwin, which was flooded by the storm.
Some workers said that permission to leave the facility came too late.
Asheville, North Carolina, says list of unaccounted for people down to 26
The number of unaccounted for people in Asheville, North Carolina, is down to 26, but some who have not been contacted are people who were seen in floodwaters, police said today.
There had been 155 people who could not be contacted in the wake of the devastating storm, and as of today 26 people could not be reached, Police Chief Michael Lamb said at a news conference.
Some of that is because of restored cell service, and in some cases family members have contacted authorities and said they have reached their loved ones, he said.
“So, all of that is wonderful news, that we’re able to get family members back in touch with each other,” Lamb said. “Now, we also know that some of those on the list are ones that were seen going in the water or underwater.”
'Now is not the time to come and sightsee': Clearwater officials share photos of recovery
The city of Clearwater, Florida, has shared photos of the cleanup and recovery efforts tractors clearing sand off roads after Helene battered the Southeast last week, leaving behind flooded neighborhoods, piles of debris and wreckage.
Traffic is now allowed on and off the barrier island, but the city warned that “now is not the time to come to Clearwater to sightsee.”
“We want to remind people that our beach is not ready to host visitors. The public bathing beach is closed and is filled with dirty sand and debris, and dead marine life is causing it to smell,” the city wrote on Facebook.
The city said roads are still full of sand, there’s no power or restrooms and sand conditions aren’t ideal.
“The city of Clearwater asks you….please do not come to the beach to gallivant and satisfy any sense of curiosity. If you do, this would be at the expense of our residents and businesses that have already lost so much,” the statement said.
Virginia-based Mercy Chefs providing hot meals for Mission Hospital staff
Mercy Chefs, based in Virginia, is delivering meals to overworked staff members at Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, in the aftermath of Helene. The nonprofit organization delivered its first meal to Mission Hospital last night and will provide lunch and dinner for as long as it's needed, Amy Avery, a spokesperson for Mercy Chefs, told NBC News.
Avery said it is making about 3,000 meals a day for the Mission Hospital staff.
"We really wanted to be there for them during this time," she said. "Some of the nurses that we've been feeding have been telling us stories about, you know, the fact that they've been on since Thursday with no breaks, not knowing if they have a home to go back to."
"Being able to take them that warm, hot chef-prepared meal has really been such a blessing," she said.
When the group made its initial delivery last night, "we had some nurses that just broke down in tears, because they told us they haven't had a home-cooked meal in days," Avery said. She added that a lot of the hospital workers were excited to see fresh fruit in the meals.
The meals included Southwest chicken and peppers over rice with a salad, fresh fruit and desserts, including cookies, Avery said. All of the food is made by six chefs who work out of a nearby parking lot that houses their two fully functional mobile kitchens, which are operating on generators.
"Here at Mercy Chefs we believe something amazing happens over a hot chef-prepared meal, and we hope that it brings people joy and a glimmer of hope during this time," Avery said. "Whenever we hand them that hot meal and they're able to open it and just see the beautiful food, it really just brings people to tears. It breaks them down."
Mercy Chefs is also delivering meals to members of the community in Asheville and Hendersonville, with hope of expanding to other areas, Avery said.
Helene death toll reaches 179
The death toll from Hurricane Helene has reached 179 across six states as of this evening, according to a NBC News count of confirmed deaths.
Three more deaths were reported in South Carolina today, bringing the total in the state to 39.
Hundreds of people are still missing amid catastrophic flooding across the Southeastern U.S. since Helene made landfall in Florida on Thursday.
Biden gives briefing in North Carolina after touring storm-ravaged areas
Biden joined a briefing on Hurricane Helene relief efforts in Raleigh after he spent the day touring Greenville, South Carolina, and surveying damage across North Carolina.
Biden called the disaster a "storm of historic proportions" and noted that damage is still being assessed as people remain unaccounted for.
He thanked the governors of the Carolinas and the elected officials who have "focused on the task at hand."
"The nation has your back," Biden said. "There are no Democrats or Republicans, only Americans," when it comes to relief for those affected by the storm.
Biden said the federal government has been trying to help as "quickly and as thoroughly" as it can and discussed approving requests from governors to provide aid and resources.
Today, Biden said he directed the Defense Department to move 1,000 soldiers to reinforce the North Carolina National Guard. He said that should speed up the delivery of lifesaving supplies like food, water and medicine.
Biden also said that FEMA is sending helicopters and trucks to get meals and liters of water to these communities every day and that it has been knocking on doors and visiting shelters to register residents to get the funds and assistance they need.
It's going to cost billions of dollars to deal with the aftermath of the storm, Biden said.
"We've got the capabilities to get the job done, and we're going to get it done as fast as possible," he said.
He also spoke about the role of climate change in the storm and said scientists have reported that "storms like Helene are going to get stronger and stronger."
Biden said he saw the "impact of that fury" today in North Carolina, specifically in the "beautiful town of Asheville," which was underwater a few days ago and has been "reduced to rock and rubble," he said.
He called out "volunteers and first responders" who are standing "side by side" to help those communities.
"Whenever we've worked together we've never failed to get something done," Biden said.
Vice President Harris visits Augusta
Vice President Kamala Harris arrived today at a media staging area in Augusta, Georgia, where she was met by residents of the area, some emotional, whom she shook hands with and gave hugs to before she spoke.
In her remarks, Harris thanked federal, state and local leaders and "all of those working to give folks the support they need and rightly deserve."
She called them "heroes in moments of crisis" who do "extraordinary work" that lifts up other people.
Augusta is one of many cities that have been ravaged by Helene. Sixty percent of residents don't have power, Harris said, and many have been without running water for days.
She said that she and President Joe Biden, who was making stops in North Carolina and South Carolina today to tour damaged areas, "have been paying close attention from the beginning" to make sure federal resources "hit the ground as quickly as possible" and that "work has been happening."
Harris said that FEMA is providing funds for those who need food and other resources and that the agency has been going door to door to interact with people who don't have electricity and can't apply for that aid online. She also said Biden approved Gov. Brian Kemp's request for 100% reimbursement.
Before her remarks, Harris said she had spoken to a community member who lost her husband in the storm and noted that "real pain and trauma has resulted because of this hurricane and what has happened."
"There's a lot of work that needs to happen over the coming days, weeks and months," she said in her remarks. "The coordination that we have dedicated ourselves to is long-lasting" to ensure neighborhoods and communities get up and running again.
Asked about the death toll, which, according to an NBC News count, is at 25 in the state, Harris acknowledged that the challenge of being accurate is that a lot of people in remote and rural areas can’t be reached.
Bristol Motor Speedway designated Northeast Tennessee Disaster Relief Center
Bristol Motor Speedway has been named the Northeast Tennessee Disaster Relief Center in coordination with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, the speedway said a statement.
The Disaster Relief Center has been tapped to serve as a "home base" for recovery efforts and a "major distribution center" and collection site after Hurricane Helene passed through and left devastating flooding across the state.
The center will also serve as a workspace for logistics and search-and-rescue teams, as well as house a regional disaster relief hotline. It will open at 8 a.m. ET tomorrow.
Map: More than 1 million still without power
Flooding devastates North Carolina's Garren Creek community
Garren Creek, North Carolina, is devastated from Helene, and the community's fire chief is trying to stay focused on the work to be done — despite having lost multiple family members.
"We still have our moments, but I try not to think about it right now," he told NBC affiliate WRAL of Raleigh, because there are "other things to take care of."
Flooding and mudslides have ripped through the area since Helene passed through.
Bud Marlowe, who was stuck in his home when the flooding began, said he had to "grab a post and hold on" as floodwaters rapidly rose around him. Two women in Garren Creek were stuck in their home as it floated down the mountain; it eventually crashed into the woods.
The community has opened a shelter at a nearby church where residents can get fresh food and water and, thanks to someone with a Starlink, can get in touch with friends and family members to let them know they're OK.
Here’s how to help victims of Hurricane Helene
The death toll has risen to at least 176 across the Southeast since Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm last week, and hundreds are still missing amid the historic flooding.
Power connections are being restored, but about 1.3 million customers are still without power from Florida to Virginia. Those who evacuated may return to unprecedented destruction in their communities, especially in hard-hit North Carolina, and many will find their homes wiped out.
Here are ways to support those affected by the storm.
Helene death toll rises to 176
Officials in Pinellas County, Florida, today announced an additional storm-related death, bringing the county’s total to 12. Fifteen deaths have been reported in the state overall.
That brings the Helene death toll to at least 176 across six states, according to a count by NBC News.
Biden will survey storm damage in Georgia and Florida tomorrow
Biden will travel to Florida and Georgia tomorrow to visit communities affected by Hurricane Helene, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One.
Jean-Pierre did not specify where in Florida and Georgia Biden will go. He is visiting South Carolina and North Carolina to survey the storm damage, while Harris is visiting Georgia and will speak about the response efforts.
North Carolina doctors resort to Amazon wish list as state grapples with lack of supplies
NBC News contributor Dr. Kavita Patel, a primary care physician who served in the Obama administration, said hospitals in North Carolina are working in "Third World conditions" in the wake of Helene's wrath.
She described the shortages hospitals face as the state slowly recovers but still grapples with power outages and a shortage of critical supplies.
"What’s really amazing is that these medical personnel, even friends of mine that are doctors in that area, are resorting to things like Amazon wish list," she said on "Andrea Mitchell Reports" this afternoon.
"They’re asking for those tablets to help sanitize and kind of make drinkable their water supplies. So, I mean, we’re dealing with literally kind of Third World conditions in a developed country like the United States, but that’s what can happen when Mother Nature and these unexpected forces all collide," she added.
North Carolina Board of Elections working to reopen election offices affected by Helene
About 1.3 million registered voters live in the 25 counties in western North Carolina that have been designated as a disaster area following Hurricane Helene, according to the State Board of Elections
Ten county election offices were closed this morning.
Officials are working to reopen them as quickly as possible to process new absentee ballot requests and to complete voter registrations, Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said at a briefing yesterday.
It's a pressing task, as absentee voting is already underway, the voter registration deadline is Oct. 11, and early in-person voting begins Oct. 17.
A website has been launched for voters affected by Helene in North Carolina.
“When disasters strike elections, we use this mantra: ‘We do not stop an election; we figure out how to proceed,’” Bell said Monday. “While we do not know exactly what is ahead, our guiding force between now and Election Day will be to do everything possible to ensure every eligible North Carolina voter can cast their ballot. Natural disasters have affected elections here in the recent past. As we did at those times, we will conduct a safe, secure and successful election in 2024.”
Duke Energy: 370 substations were out of service from Helene in Carolinas
Duke Energy, a power and gas company, said 370 substations were out of service from Helene in the Carolinas service area.
As water levels recede the damage to power stations has come to light, some littered with debris. On X the company quoted spokesperson Bill Norton as saying, “We had entire substations that were underwater.”
In a statement yesterday, Duke energy said it had restored power to 566,000 customers in South Carolina and 363,000 upstate remained without power. In North Carolina the company restored 1 million customer outages but 284,000 customers in the mountain region remain without power.
For substations that were damaged and can’t be repaired quickly, “mobile substations will be installed to allow us to restore service as soon as it is safe to do so,” the company wrote on X.
'No one's come to check on us': Grandmother arrives to Asheville food bank in tears
ASHEVILLE — A grandmother with her daughter and two young grandchildren arrived at a food bank in Asheville in tears this morning, saying the little ones haven't eaten in days.
Tanya Peterson spoke with NBC's Antonia Hylton about the dire conditions her community in Candler has been left in since Helene hit.
“We have no water, we have no power, no one’s coming through the small back areas and the back roads,” she explained. “That’s where we need the help, a lot of it. We’ve got trees down on the house, we’ve got big trees still on power lines.”
“We’ve got people looting gas, coming through your yard, it’s awful, it’s awful and no one’s come through to check in on us. No one,” Peterson added tearfully. She said she can’t get through to county officials for help.
Peterson said her mother is at home and is disabled with heart problems and her son-in-law's mother, who is on oxygen, has run out. She said that they've been running what little gas they have out of a car for their generator "to heat water up for the baby."
Speaking on her family's needs she said: “They need food, they need water, the baby needs wipes. They need clean clothes or some kind of washing material we can wash with, my hand at least ... We need gas for the car, gas for the generator so we can get around to find this stuff for my mom, his mom and these children.”
At the food bank she was able to stock up on food, water and baby wipes.
About 1.3 million remain without power
As of 11 a.m. ET, 1.28 million customers in the Southeast are without power, according to PowerOutage.Us.
In South Carolina, more than 490,000 customers are without service, in Georgia more than 360,000, North Carolina more than 346,000, Florida 46,000 and Virginia more than 42,000 are out.
Helene death toll mounts to 175
The Hurricane Helene death toll has risen to 175.
North Carolina’s death toll stands at at least 90, according to a count by NBC News.
Florida has reported 14 deaths, Georgia 25, South Carolina 36, Tennessee eight deaths, and Virginia two deaths.
Biden deploys up to 1,000 soldiers to support North Carolina National Guard
President Joe Biden announced today he’s directed the Defense Department to deploy up to 1,000 active-duty soldiers to reinforce the North Carolina National Guard, aiding in the delivery of supplies, food and water to isolated communities.
The forces will be available for deployment starting today.
Biden’s also due to travel to North Carolina and South Carolina today where he’ll survey Helene-impacted areas by air, receive operational briefings, and meet with first responders and local officials.
“Hurricane Helene has been a storm of historic proportion. My heart goes out to everyone who has experienced unthinkable loss. We are here for you — and we will stay here for as long as it takes,” Biden said.
Volunteers are using ATVs to deliver water, medicine, and oxygen to residents of Ashe County, N.C., stranded by Hurricane Helene.
1,200 inmates in N.C. relocated
More than 1,000 inmates within the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction were evacuated “due to long timeframes for water and power restoration” in the wake of Helene. The evacuations started yesterday morning and concluded by evening.
Officials said 841 men incarcerated at Avery-Mitchell Correctional Institution in Spruce Pine were evacuated to seven different prisons.
“All offenders in storm-impacted prisons are safe, and NCDAC is taking appropriate steps to ensure continued health and safety of all staff and offenders,” NCDAC said in a statement.
On Monday, NCDAC had evacuated just over 400 female offenders from Western Correctional Center for Women in Swannanoa and Black Mountain Substance Abuse Treatment Center for Women to three different institutions.
“The duration of all relocations will depend on the time required restore water and power,” the department said.
Biden approves major disaster declaration for Virginia
President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Virginia yesterday and ordered federal aid be sent to assist in recovery efforts.
The announcement makes federal funding available to locals in Giles, Grayson, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington and Wythe counties, as well as the independent city of Galax. Assistance includes grants for temporary housing, home repairs and low-cost loans for uninsured property losses.
Federal funding is also available to state and local governments and nonprofits for emergency work.
Tennessee investigating plastics factory after workers trapped by Hurricane Helene floods died or went missing
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the state’s criminal investigation agency, said Wednesday it is looking into allegations against an Erwin plastics factory where several workers died and some went missing after they were swept away by floodwaters from Hurricane Helene.
“At the request of 1st Judicial District Attorney General Steve Finney, TBI agents are investigating allegations involving Impact Plastics,” Leslie Earhart, the bureau’s spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News. The bureau deferred additional questions to the District Attorney General’s Office.
Finney in a statement said that he specifically asked “that they review the occurrences of Friday, September 27, 2024, to identify any potential criminal violations.”
Biden heads to Carolinas and Harris to Georgia to view Hurricane Helene damage
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are set to take separate tours on Wednesday of the catastrophic damage resulting from Hurricane Helene, from which at least 150 people have died.
Biden is expected to visit North Carolina and South Carolina days after the storm swept through Florida and traveled north, causing damage as far north as Tennessee and Virginia.
Harris will visit Georgia, which former President Donald Trump toured Monday and where he criticized Harris and the Biden administration for their response to the hurricane.
Biden is first scheduled to land in Greenville, South Carolina, where he will participate in an aerial tour of storm damage. After that, he will head to Raleigh, North Carolina, to be briefed at the emergency operations center and then take an aerial tour of Asheville, one of the areas hit hardest by flooding.
North Carolina man rescued from rushing floodwaters by pulley, but his fiancée is missing
John Norwood and his fiancée, Julie Le Roux, were swept into fast-moving floodwaters last week when a mudslide destroyed the Marion, North Carolina, home they were sheltering in during Helene.
Video captured the moment Norwood was rescued, carried over the floods by a pulley and brought to safety. Norwood is now recovering in the hospital, but his fiancée is still missing.
The family is hopeful that Le Roux will be found. She's one of hundreds missing after Helene tore through the Southeast, leaving devastating flooding and power outages in its wake.
An online fundraiser for Norwood has already surpassed $45,000. His uncle, Robert Martin, told NBC affiliate WRAL of Raleigh, he's "blown away" by the public's generosity.
“Absolutely, absolutely blown away. I just I don’t even know where it’s all coming from. I’m having trouble comprehending it. It is so generous,” he said.
Mule teams carry food and supplies to residents in Black Mountain
Critical food and supplies are reaching residents in Black Mountain, North Carolina, by a special delivery method: mules.
The Mountain Mule Packer Ranch, which specializes in terrain pack animal supply trains, sent loads of food and supplies yesterday by mules, which are able to traverse the difficult terrain. Photos posted by the group showed the mules, saddled with cargo, walking on wrecked roads that would be impassable by car.
“All went smoothly, and the mules and packers are resting for the night! Their plan for tomorrow, is to bring supplies, food, and check on residents’ needs in an area towards Swannanoa, where it is believed 30% of the town’s residents are trapped and can’t get out,” the Mountain Mule Packer Ranch wrote on Facebook.
The group was supported by donations from volunteers, Tractor Supply and Food Lion in Cleveland.
“It was so moving and beautiful to see people lined up bringing bag after bag, box after box, and case after case for the cause. We all had tears in our eyes and lumps in our throats as we joined together for a common cause,” the group wrote on Facebook.
U.S. 441 in the Smoky Mountains reopens this morning
U.S. 441/Newfound Gap Road will reopen by 8 a.m. today “to allow for access between Tennessee and North Carolina communities,” the National Park Service said this morning.
The route had been closed following Helene due to limited park staffing and limited resources such as fuel.
With the road reopening, the communities of Sevier County, Tennessee, and Cherokee County, North Carolina “are fully open to those who can access them through safe routes.” It comes as many roads were damaged or became impassable in the wake of Helene.
Once it opens, all major roads, trails and facilities on the Tennessee-side of the park will be open to visitors.
As the Southeast begins the recovery, locals turn to hero volunteers for help and food
States in the Southeast are continuing to recover from Helene, with searches for survivors still underway, over 1 million still without power, and struggles with food, water and cell service.
In Asheville, North Carolina, many are still in dire condition. “I don’t have power, water, food,” one woman told NBC News.
With so many in need of help, locals have turned to volunteers to help out. Halo Relief, a volunteer disaster relief organization, is in the state clearing roads and reaching stranded locals.
“We have to clear roads to get to them and then try to figure out how to transport them to somewhere safe and get that medical care that they need,” Halo Relief founder Jay Carter said. “It’s the worst day of their life.”
In Asheville, some restaurants like Chai Pani that have power are paying it forward by making food for World Central Kitchen to share to those in need. At Chai Pani, most of the people working to prepare food for the community are volunteers, most of whom don't have power themselves.
“This is what it means to us to be part of a community,” said Molly Irani, co-owner of Chai Pani. “In the middle of darkness, you just have to look to the helpers and the light and that’s how we get through it.”
Here's what the VP candidates said about Helene during last night's debate
Hurricane Helene and its devastation were highlighted during the debate between vice presidential candidates Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance last night.
Vance called the hurricane “an unbelievable, unspeakable human tragedy.”
“I’m sure Governor Walz joins me in saying our hearts go out to those innocent people, our prayers go out to them. And we want as robust and aggressive as a federal response as we can get to save as many lives as possible. And then, of course, afterwards, to help the people in those communities rebuild,” Vance said.
Walz said: “It is a horrific tragedy with this hurricane, and my heart goes out to the folks that are down there.”
Walz spoke on his role as co-chair of the council of governors.
“We work together on these emergency managements. Governors know no partisanship. They work together, all the governors and the emergency responders on the ground, those happen on the front end. The federal government comes in to make sure we recovery. But we’re still in that phase where we need to make sure that they’re staying there, staying focused,” Walz said.
Both were asked about climate change and its impact in relation with more fierce storms like Helene.
Vance called climate change “a very important issue,” adding, “Donald Trump and I support clean air, clean water. We want the environment to be cleaner and safer.”
Meanwhile Walz pointed out that Trump previously called climate change a “hoax.”
“My farmers know climate change is real. They’ve seen 500 year droughts, 500 year floods, back to back," Walz said. “We are producing more natural gas and more oil at any time than we ever have. We’re also producing more clean energy. So the solution for us is to continue to move forward, that climate change is real. Reducing our impact is absolutely critical. But this is not a false choice. You can do that at the same time you’re creating the jobs that we’re seeing all across the country. That’s exactly what this administration has done.”
Flooding caused by unprecedented levels of rainfall, climate center says
Communities in the mountains and southern foothills of North Carolina have been devastated by historic flooding, caused by some of the highest river levels and heaviest rainfall ever seen in the region.
Official figures underline just how extraordinary the last few days have been: the North Carolina State Climate Office at North Carolina State University said in an update this week that 24.41 inches of rain fell on its weather station on Mount Mitchell.
This amount is "off the charts," the climate center said — 16.5 inches would be considered a once-in-1,000-years event, it added.
Unverified data from the North Carolina Forest Service station in Busick showed that it received 31.33 inches, between Sept. 25 and Sept. 27.
Communication with the weather station at Asheville Regional Airport was lost Friday morning, but by that point it had already reported 13.98 inches of rain.
The state’s record for deaths during a tropical event — about 80, during a flood in July 1916 — could be broken along with several other unwelcome records, the climate office said.
Hope fades for Tennessee dad, feared swept away by floodwaters
A Tennessee man said he was still clinging on to hope that his dad would be found alive, four days after he went missing in Jonesborough, but those hopes were "starting to dwindle."
“You’re feeling helpless and you’re not even the person missing, so you can only imagine how helpless they felt in their situation,” Matt Cloyd told NBC affiliate WBIR of Knoxville yesterday.
His father, Steve, is feared to have been swept away in the fast-moving Nolichucky River. His dog was found alive and his Jeep found half a mile away from his home.
"It's like losing a loved one, but not knowing if you've actually gone," Cloyd said. "I just wish we'd had more time. I just hope that somehow, some way, we find you. And if you are watching and you are out there, just know that we loved you."
Dad walks miles to make daughter’s wedding after Helene
David Jones was stuck at a bridge that had been washed away as he tried to drive to his daughter’s wedding in Johnson City, Tennessee. So the marathon runner decided to walk the rest of the way. Frances Rivera has the full story on "Early TODAY."
Local businesses clear away debris in Asheville
Lucas Ross, left, and Nathan Joudry clear mud and debris from Casablanca Cigar Bar in Asheville, North Carolina, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene yesterday.
Melissa Sue Gerrits / Getty Images
1.3 million energy customers still without power
While the lights are back on in some communities, the wait goes on for many.
More than 1.3 million energy customers are still in the dark as of 4 a.m. ET today.
Almost 500,000 customers are out in South Carolina, followed by almost 380,00 in Georgia and almost 350,000 in North Carolina.
Some 4 million customers were without power in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Drinking water crisis in North Carolina, days after flooding disaster
Access to water is a critical need in western North Carolina as the region struggles days after the flooding disaster caused by Hurricane Helene. Many of the pipes that deliver the water were washed away. Some families are still trying to get in touch with loved ones who haven’t been heard from. NBC News’ Sam Brock reports.
