Three days after Western North Carolina woke up to Tropical Storm Helene and a nightmare of flooding never previously seen in the region, residents are holding on, with some trying to put their lives back together and others in need of emergency assistance.
Governments, charities and businesses have begun work to shore up and repair the severely damaged infrastructure, crucial services and economy of the region.
According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, some 436 roads are closed across the state as of 3 p.m. Monday as a result of Helene, with most concentrated in the Blue Ridge Mountains and western Piedmont.
A DOT website on Monday identified several major closures in the mountains: “I-40 is impassable in multiple locations. I-26 is closed at the Tennessee state line.”
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But even the highway agency doesn’t know how bad it really is.
While stating that all roads in in Western North Carolina should be “considered closed” and prohibiting all non-emergency travel, DOT also acknowledged, “There are many closed roads that are not listed on this site as many areas are not able to report at this time.”
The death count has grown dramatically as communications are restored with more areas and rescuers are able to reach more locations. In the largest county within the area affected by the storm, Buncombe, the sheriff’s office reported 35 known deaths as of 10 a.m. Monday. Later Monday, the county said the death toll had risen to 40. Henderson County has confirmed at least six deaths there.
The death toll from across the region is only expected to grow. Many homes remain underwater. Landslides have taken place and unknown numbers of people remain unaccounted for. Word of fatalities from many isolated areas has simply not become available yet.
Focus on the Asheville area
Much of the focus has centered on Asheville, which is the largest city in the state’s western counties. A city at the convergence of the Swannanoa and French Broad rivers and Hominy and Sweeten creeks, among other streams, Asheville is especially prone to flooding. It is already the area with the highest concentration of known fatalities.
City officials announced Monday that 120 police officers from across NC are in Asheville in addition to 260 emergency personnel from across the country.
Life in Asheville is not going to be as it was, at least not for a while. For example, there will be no trash and recycling services in Asheville and Buncombe County until further notice, officials announced Monday.
“This recovery effort will take time,” Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said at a Monday press briefing. “We want continued cooperation and concern as we continue to rebuild our community in the coming weeks.”
“The damage to Asheville’s water system is catastrophic,” Assistant City Manager Ben Woody said in a press briefing. “Our water department and public works department are working every hour of daylight to try to restore water to the city.”
In the nearby town of Black Mountain, which sits on the Swannanoa River, the water system is entirely compromised, with no estimate on when it will be restored, Woody noted.
Helene washed out 24-inch and 36-inch water main lines at the North Fork Water Treatment Plant in Asheville, according to Woody. Storms in 2004 had this same effect, so the city installed bypass lines to create redundancies. However, Helene washed out those two bypass lines as well. Now, water lines must be replaced.
Water personnel have yet to access Debruhl Water Plant near Bee Tree due to impassable roads. Water lines there are also destroyed, and the National Guard is en route to find a way for county personnel to get to the plant.
The city of Greensboro sent its water personnel, crews and equipment to Asheville to get repairs to water systems underway.
A single water plant in the area, Mills River Treatment Plant, is operational though it is operating at a heavily reduced capacity. Woody hopes to ramp up Mills River’s production capacity throughout the week.
For households that do have water, a boil water advisory is in effect. Potable water should not be used to flush toilets, but saved for consumption only.
Woody says he cannot provide a timeline for restoring Asheville’s water system, as not all damage has been assessed.
Urban search and rescue teams from Arizona and New Jersey are operating in the Asheville. These teams have structural engineering and specialized rescue skills to deal with collapsed buildings, landslides and water rescues.
They bring canine search teams and hazardous material response capabilities. Their medical staff is capable of doing minor surgeries in the field.
“Last week, we called the North Carolina Metro Fire Chief Association and the Office of the State Fire Marshall,” Asheville fire chief Michael Cayse said in a Monday press briefing.
“They have put together staffing for the entire Asheville fire department for six straight days to allow our weary firefighters to go home and take care of business at their homes. Many are suffering from mental and physical strain, and the six days that they are given off will help them tremendously.”
The North Carolina Army National Guard has provided the city with high-profile vehicles for fording deep water and mud to evacuate survivors and clear roads.
Traffic signals and stop lights are out in the city of Asheville and surrounding area. When stop lights are out, each intersection should be treated as a four-way stop, county officials reminded residents.
Woodfin, a town just north of Asheville, is suffering from major devastation along the French Broad River.
Both bridges in town are closed, and mayor Jim McAllister is unsure whether they will ever open again. The town’s largest employer, Silver-Line Plastics, is underwater, as is the county’s recycling plant. A major construction project to form a wave pool in a Woodfin park has been destroyed.
McAllister reported that despite all the destruction, all residents of Woodfin now have access to roadways.
“Since the first sunrise after the storm, I have been absolutely blown away by the thousands of acts of kindness that our residents have shown each other,”McAllister said in a Monday press briefing.
“Our public works employees have been working without sleep or showers.”
The underground 12-mile source pipe from Woodfin Water Reservoir to the town’s faucets experienced a major break. DOT is assisting the town in searching for the break. There is no estimate for water service resumption.
“The dam at Woodfin Water Reservoir has been inspected and is no danger of failing, despite the many rumors that that failure is imminent,” McAllister said.
Problem of misinformation
Not helping the situation is widespread misinformation, whether inadvertent or malicious. Exaggeration, geographical errors, hearsay and outright hoaxes have consequences as people struggle to survive. The City of Asheville and Warren Wilson College both had to deal with the fallout from an apparent hoax, claiming a dam was about to break.
“I want to take a minute to address some information that came out regarding Bee Tree Dam,” Asheville spokesman Woody said at a Monday press conference.
“Water staff and outside agencies have inspected the dam, and I want to ensure the community that it is functioning as it should. There is no evidence that the structure has been compromised. I want to thank our county partners that helped us dispel this rumor.”
Several news broadcasts throughout the region overstated the threat to a dam in Rutherford County on Friday. Despite earlier posts by various media or on social media that the dam on Lake Lure had failed or was about to do so, dam failure was prevented with only some water overflowing the dam.
Carolina Public Press also removed erroneous reports of hospital evacuations from an earlier article and posted a correction due to incorrect information it had received.
Like the fog of war that envelops a battlefield, a disaster zone is fertile ground for confusion.
This report attempts to identify some hard facts and assessments of the situation, as well as vital information about what’s happening across the region at this time. The situation is fluid, and what is true now, may have changed dramatically within a few hours.
Federal and state response
President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration Sunday that allows federal financial assistance for 25 North Carolina counties – Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey – plus the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians who are based primarily in Jackson and Swain counties.
A press release from FEMA at 1 p.m. today said Biden has directed FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to remain in Asheville “until the situation has stabilized.” Gov. Roy Cooper is also on the ground to survey damage.
Currently 10 federal search-and-rescue teams have been activated, the statement said, with another nine teams on the way, for a total of more than 900 federal personnel supporting rescue efforts.
In a social media post from Sunday, FEMA listed the resources it is deploying to North Carolina. Those included 260 federal search-and-rescue personnel, 40 Starlink transceivers to support emergency communications, 50 ambulances, five trailers of meals and 20 trailers of water.
The post also said that later Monday FEMA is transporting generators to Asheville and providing an additional 150 ambulances, 20 meal trailers, 40 water trailers, 215 search-and-rescue personnel and one more Incident Management Assistance Team.
Supplies are being airlifted into parts of the region from Asheville because travel by roads is so difficult, Cooper said. Many homes are still without water or are operating under a boil water advisory, and many counties in the affected area were distributing clean water and food to families starting Monday.
Haywood, Henderson and Rutherford counties announced on their respective Facebook pages that they were setting up distribution centers to supply food and water for residents. Buncombe County announced on its Facebook page that it was planning to open four distribution centers later today, as described in more detail below.
County officials who have responded to CPP’s inquiries said that they have not begun to assess damage and move forward with recovery efforts yet. As Henderson County communications officer Mike Morgan put it, the county is still in “rescue mode.”
Morgan told CPP that there are six confirmed deaths in Henderson County but provided no details on the causes of those deaths. He added that the county has received more than 1,000 emergency calls since the storm began.
Curfews are still in effect for Haywood County (9 p.m. to 7 a.m.), Henderson County (8 p.m. to 8 a.m.) and Transylvania County (8 p.m. to 8 a.m.) and the City of Asheville (7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.). Rutherford County lifted its curfew earlier Monday.
Lack of access to internet and cell service access continues to be an issue in affected areas. T-Mobile is deploying trucks which provide cellular voice, data and Wi-Fi to the parks and recreation center in Hendersonville, Asheville Middle School and Southside Community Center in Asheville.
Power outages after Helene
As of Monday morning, Duke Energy reported ongoing outages in the following counties hardest hit by Helene:
- Buncombe County: 91,438 customers without power
- Henderson County: 69,195 customers without power
- Rutherford County: 26,294 customers without power
- Cleveland County: 21,116 customers without power
Duke Energy customers in Transylvania, Catawba, Caldwell, McDowell and Burke counties also face significant outages, though less widespread.
“This is not just putting power lines back up or replacing poles,” Duke Energy spokesperson Bill Norton told Carolina Public Press. “We are rebuilding critical infrastructure. There are sections of transmission infrastructure and substations that are underwater.”
Flood waters completely washed out transmission and distribution lines supporting the city of Marion’s water treatment plant. “The devastation was so bad we can’t even find the poles,” Norton said. Even so, Duke Energy has restored power at the plant since.
Around 18,000 Duke Energy employees are working in western parts of North and South Carolina, many of whom have been brought in from states across the country and even Canada.
“We have linemen working out there who aren’t sure if they have a home to go back to,” Norton said. “Without cell service, they can’t contact their families, and for those with homes in low-lying areas of North Carolina, they were likely badly flooded.”
Duke Energy is promising most customers their power back by Friday. In more remote areas of the state, however, it could be weeks before power is restored. The company has restored energy to Asheville Regional Airport, as well as 16 out of the 17 critical care hospitals they serve in Western North Carolina that initially faced loss of power.
Many local government electrical utilities in Western North Carolina are part of ElectriCities. That organization’s public power communities — where residents own the electric utility and participate in running it — reported 46,000 outages at storm’s peak, but that number was down to 11,400 Monday at noon.
Crews are working around the clock, the website said. Just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Morganton still has 4,000 customers without power, Shelby is at 6,800. In the state’s northern mountains, the power community in Boone, New River Light & Power, is at 350 outages.
ElectriCities has been deploying crews and responding to mutual aid requests, all of which have been met, the company said.
Hospitals in the storm zone
Hospitals in Western NC — the majority of which are operated by either HCA, Duke LifePoint, UNC Health and Advent Health — face power outages and ongoing shortages of supplies and staff.
The one hospital left without power is St. Luke’s Hospital in Polk County. The Florida-based hospital chain AdventHealth recently assumed management of the community-owned hospital in Columbus. The 25-bed facility will officially become AdventHealth Polk in October.
The hospital is currently running on generator power, according to Bill Miller, chair of the hospital’s board of trustees. Based on conversations he’s had with Duke Energy, he expects power to be restored within 24 hours. He believes they are not in danger of running out of essential supplies like food, water, fuel or medicine.
“Some staff are having a hard time getting to the hospital,” Miller said. “Advent is working with the hospital to pick people up, or cut trees out of their driveways.”
Physicians, nurses and other key staff at UNC Health’s mountain locations are struggling to make it to work due to road closures, unsafe conditions and personal fallout from the storm, according to UNC Health spokesperson Alan Wolf.
Health care providers from UNC Health Rex in Raleigh and UNC Health Nash in Rocky Mount are mobilizing to help relieve their western counterparts.
UNC Health is also deploying food, water, oxygen tanks and other essential supplies to locations to ensure hospitals do not run out. Their critical care transport team is working to coordinate the transfers of any patients who require one.
The humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse set up a field hospital in the parking lot of the university health system’s Boone location, UNC Health Appalachian.
UNC Health is offering free virtual care for residents of Western North Carolina. Services are available every day between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. with no appointment needed.
The system’s hospital and emergency room in Henderson County, UNC Health Pardee, remain operational. However, Pardee’s outpatient clinics and urgent care locations are closed until further notice. All elective surgeries, procedures, and routine imaging appointments are canceled.
Mission Hospital in Asheville is operating under crisis protocol, according Greg Lowe, CEO of Mission Health and president of HCA’s North Carolina Division. Tennessee-based HCA owns Mission Health in Asheville as well as rural hospitals in surrounding mountain counties.
Mission Hospital currently has more than 700 patients. More than 250 patients have been admitted to the hospital since the storm. More than 30 babies have been delivered in that time.
The hospital’s emergency room has seen more than 900 patients, 200 of whom were then admitted to the hospital. Lowe said Monday that more than 80 patients in need of admission to the hospital were being held in the ER.
“We asked staff to come into their shifts before they started Thursday evening, and sleep on site in order to be safe and available to care for our patients,” Lowe said.
“That means that in addition to the more than 700 patients, we’ve had more than 1,200 local staff who are being paid to sleep here in the hospital between their shifts.”
Lowe said HCA’s most significant priorities are city water and sewer. “HCA Healthcare has supplied more than 20 tanker trucks daily so that we can maintain operations at the hospital,” Lowe said.
“However, without pressurized water, we are significantly challenged in some operations, such as hot food preparations, and toileting and showers for those who are staying on site. To say that our teams are making the best of rough circumstances to provide care for our patients is an understatement.”
HCA is delivering food, water, facility generators, satellite data networks, fuel, and critical supplies to the Asheville hospital. Additional mobile units including kitchens, bathrooms, laundry facilities and hand washing stations will arrive in the coming days, according to Lowe.
HCA employees from around the country are arriving to provide support. “Yesterday, two bus loads of nurses arrived from Nashville, South Carolina and Texas to support our patient care teams,” Lowe said.
HCA has committed $1 million to local organizations in Asheville.
Duke LifePoint spokesperson Liz Harris said that, though internet and cell service remains challenging for Haywood Regional Medical Center in Clyde, Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva and Swain Community Hospital in Bryson City, all three are well-supplied with food, water and other critical supplies.
Atrium Health operates hospitals in Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties, just southeast of the mountains and the areas most affected by Tropical Storm Helene.
“Our mobile medicine teams have made dozens of trips to transport patients and deliver supplies via our Atrium Health MedCenter Air and Wake Forest Baptist AirCare air ambulance teams, as well as with our ambulances on the ground,” Atrium Health spokesperson Kate Gaier told CPP in an email. Atrium Health also operates a MED-1 mobile hospital.
The Charlotte-based health system is deploying its EMS team from Georgia to assist with search-and-rescue mission in North Carolina, transporting patients and answering emergency calls.
Broughton Hospital in Morganton is one of North Carolina’s main in-patient facilities for mental illness. Despite significant power outages in the area, the facility appears to be operating normally.
“Broughton Hospital has power and patients and staff are all accounted for and safe,” hospital spokesperson Summer Tonizzo told CPP in an email.
“Getting access to health care facilities to support staffing continues to be challenging. We are grateful for the dedication of our colleagues who are ensuring those in our care remain safe.”
Emergency shelters and distribution centers
Emergency shelters are up and running at Henderson County Athletics & Activity Center in Hendersonville, Transylvania County Parks and Recreation Center in Brevard, R-S Central High School in Rutherfordton, and Asheville-Buncombe Tech in Asheville.
The emergency shelter at the WNC Agricultural Center near Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher is full, according to the Buncombe County website.
Buncombe County urged residents via Facebook Monday morning not to go to emergency shelters in search of food and water. The county is setting up four distribution sites.
Buncombe County will start distributing bottled water starting at 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30. A one-day supply of bottled water will be available for each individual in a household, with distribution sites operating as drive-through locations, but walk-ups will be accommodated.
The locations are:
- William W. Estes Elementary School – 275 Overlook Road, Asheville
- Sand Hill Elementary – 154 Sand Hill School Road, Asheville (Please enter via Acton Circle)
- North Windy Ridge Intermediate School – 20 Doan Road, Weaverville
- Fairview Elementary School – 1355 Charlotte Highway, Fairview
“We are aware that many in our community cannot make it to the distribution sites, and we are working on developing a mobile distribution plan to reach those in need. Those plans will be announced as soon as possible,” a statement from the county said.
Buncombe County said it anticipates continuing these distribution efforts in coming days, with expanded hours and supplies as they become available.
Assistance is also available from the City of Asheville at Pack Square Park. Drinking water will be distributed beginning at 1 p.m. until dark or when the supply runs out.
Each person will be provided 1 gallon of water per person, with a maximum of 5 gallons per family. Each person who accesses the water distribution at Pack Square must bring their own container. For the safety of everyone involved, traffic will be directed around the park and the distribution site will be walk-up only.
In Rutherford County, distribution sites for food and emergency supplies are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Thomas Jefferson High School, Florence Baptist Church, and the Rutherford County Health Department, according to the county’s emergency management Facebook page.
Charitable organizations and efforts
Many Western North Carolina charitable organizations had offices and personnel who have themselves been directly affected by Tropical Storm Helene and subsequent flooding. Even so, these and others from both within and outside of the region are working to bring relief in many forms to those affected by Helene as both a tropical storm and hurricane across the Southeast.
CityServe international $5 million for states affected by Helene. The organization landed a helicopter in Asheville on Sunday. Their focus for efforts in North Carolina is the Asheville region, including Banner Elk, Sugar Mountain, Black Mountain and Greenwood.
“Right now, approximately 500 people stranded on mountain tops are cut off from electricity and drinking water, and lack access to safe roads,” City Serve said.
Some for-profit enterprises have also announced initiatives to boost relief. UHaul is providing free storage space for those impacted by Helene, 30 days free at 437 locations across many states.
Additional information on charities and relief efforts will be posted as it becomes available.
Colleges coping with Helene
Colleges and universities in the storm’s path have faced unique challenges. Some face damage from flooding and downed trees. Many have power outages and limited communications. Students housed on campuses are unable to travel freely and staff may have trouble getting to the schools. Many of them have suspended classes.
The situation is especially dire at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, one of the hardest-hit communities in the state after Helene. An unincorporated area along the Swannanoa River between Asheville and Black Mountain in eastern Buncombe County, much of Swannanoa has been inundated by swollen river and its tributaries.
A Buncombe County Facebook post described the situation in Swannanoa as “unimaginable.”
At Warren Wilson, there is no power, water, or reliable cell service or internet, and Buncombe County officials said it will likely take a week or more for these essential services to be restored.
Since travel in Western NC remains dangerous, students are not recommended to leave campus, though many have elected to.
Sunday night, false reports of dam breaches left students and staff even more distressed. College president Damian Fernandez is calling this misinformation a “hoax.”
By Friday evening, a few hours after the storm hit, most operational systems on campus were compromised. “The city seems to have turned off water service,” Fernandez said in a statement on Friday. Still, Fernandez maintained that the campus is in better shape than most of the surrounding areas.
All roads surrounding campus were blocked directly following the storm, but on Saturday afternoon, U.S. 70 in the area was reopened and access to the college was restored. Still, college administrators could not reach the water department to ask when access to water would be restored.
“At this point, we are distributing water bottles, we are attempting to restart a well, and we are trying to secure water from other sources,” Fernandez wrote Saturday afternoon. “We are being creative. Unless we find an additional source of water supply, campus operations will be untenable.”
In an act of desperation, Warren Wilson staff opened a well of non-potable water on Saturday evening, which they boiled and used for dish washing and toilet flushing. The following afternoon, palettes of water and other supplies were delivered to campus.
Officials told Fernandez on Sunday evening that it will take a week or more to restore power and water to the college.
On Sunday at 8:45 p.m., students at Warren Wilson received false information from regional emergency officials about nearby dams breaching and reacted with appropriate urgency.
“A report of a possible dam break caused students to retreat to higher ground on the campus soccer field this evening,” Fernandez wrote Sunday night. “Warren Wilson College leadership confirmed with local police and the National Guard that the local dams are safe; the initial report was a hoax. Students are now back in their residence halls.”
Fernandez said regional emergency officials received false information themselves. Students were shaken and encouraged to return to their darkened dorms.
“At times like these we need to be judicious about rumors and misinformation,” Fernandez wrote Monday morning. “The College will continue to try to provide accurate reports. We do our best to confirm the information we receive.”
Warren Wilson College has plans to resume classes by Monday, Oct. 14.
Other colleges around the region also faced serious challenges.
As of Monday morning, no students remain on campus at Montreat College, according to the college’s emergency response team. Physical damage to campus appears to be severe. The school is just 11 miles from Warren Wilson College in the town of Montreat, along creeks that are tributaries to the Swannanoa River.
Montreat College warns students not to return to campus to retrieve vehicles or belongings, as there is no gas in the surrounding area and unnecessary traffic on roadways is delaying the delivery of essential aid and supplies.
“With … students safely relocated, we are shifting our attention to assessing the condition of the college’s physical plant as we begin recovery efforts,” the college’s statement reads.
Montreat will be closed until Oct. 6 at the earliest.
UNC Asheville’s campus is similarly closed until Oct. 7., with classes suspended until Oct. 9.
“Conditions at UNC Asheville are difficult,” UNC Asheville chancellor Kimberly van Noort said in a statement on Saturday.
“Significant tree damage has occurred and parts of campus are inaccessible. Everyone is safe. Cell and internet coverage is nonexistent at this point … We are providing security, food, water, and comfort to the students remaining on campus.”
UNC Asheville said the university is working to safely relocate any remaining students on campus after Helene.
Classes at Appalachian State University in Boone and Western Carolina University in Cullowhee are canceled through at least Friday evening.
No residence halls at App State are structurally compromised, but campus roads may be dangerous or impassable after Helene, according to the university’s website.
Crews are working to rope off dangerous areas of campus. Students are urged to conserve water. Residence halls, the central dining hall, campus markets, the student union, student health services, and student recreation remain open.
South of Asheville in Transylvania County, Brevard College has also canceled classes for this week. However the campus remains open and power had been restored as of Monday, according to the college Facebook page.
Cell service remains down in the town of Brevard and the college. Due to related problems with internet, the college said its Facebook page can only be updated from out of town.
Mars Hill University in Madison County, north of Asheville, posted a statement on its website Monday announcing the closure of classes and the overall situation.
“The campus Wi-Fi network has been restored. However, intermittent outages are still possible based on the status of regional service provider networks. Residence halls will remain open,” the university website said, noting that classes would remain suspended and offices closed through the rest of this week.
Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk also announced on its website that classes would be canceled for this week, citing Tropical Storm Helene’s effects on “college operations.” The college expects to restart classes on Oct. 7 by going online.
The situation is complicated for Lenoir-Rhyne University, whose main campus is in Hickory in Catawba County, east of the mountains and the heart of the worst storm damage, but also operates a graduate campus near downtown Asheville and an additional campus in Columbia, South Carolina, each of which areas sustained major damage from the storm.
“We are pleased to announce that power has been fully restored to the Columbia campus,” the university website announced early Monday.
“While internet service is still being restored (in Columbia), we anticipate full functionality later today. On the Hickory campus, Duke Energy crews are diligently working to restore power to the few remaining buildings without service. We are currently assessing conditions in Asheville.”
Due to different situations on each campus, students in various programs at Lenoir-Rhyne should check with the university on which classes have been cancelled or moved to other formats and for how long. The semester schedules have been extended for some programs.
Just southeast of the mountains in Boiling Springs, in Cleveland County, Gardner-Webb University announced plans to return to classes on Tuesday.
“Faculty will make allowances for student work missed during the power outage,” the university website said.
“Please remember that the community around campus is still recovering from this storm, so while we will continue campus operations as normal, we will be finding opportunities to serve our community in the coming days.”
CPP news staff including Jane Winik Sartwell, Lucas Thomae and Frank Taylor contributed to this report.
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