- Helene Rescue and Recovery: 184 deaths, 61 in Buncombe County; 16 county emergency operation centers open; 29 shelters open; 1,200 people in shelters
President Joe Biden and Governor Roy Cooper toured damage in western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene on Wednesday.
In an update at the State Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, Biden talked about his flyover earlier in the day.
“I don’t have to tell this group that Hurricane Helene has been a storm, literally of historic proportions,” said Biden. “The damage is still being assessed but many people are still unaccounted for. You could see homes that are moved clearly from one side of the river, down the river to another side of the river. And I can only imagine what it’s like to have been in one of those homes.”
The President announced that the federal government will fully fund debris removal and emergency protective measures for six months and is sending 1,000 Department of Defense soldiers to support North Carolina’s National Guard.
Today I was able to thank a few of the men and women who have gone above and beyond in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 2, 2024
These first responders have risked their own safety to reach folks who are stranded, clear roads, and restore power.
They represent the very best of us. pic.twitter.com/eenymBcl0Y
Biden commented on the work of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that is already taking place.
“FEMA teams are offering free temporary housing and hotel rooms for eligible residents,” Biden said. “They’re continuing to send helicopters and trucks to deliver hundreds of thousands of meals and liters of water in communities every single day. And they’re knocking, literally knocking, on doors and visiting shelters to register folks so they can receive assistance to buy the urgent needs that they have because they’ve lost everything like prescriptions and baby formula and essentials.”
According to FEMA, while restoration of cellular service continues to improve, many areas are still experiencing outages. Starlink has been deployed in many areas allowing individuals and first responders to get online. The President said he was directing deployments of more units across the state. FEMA has supplied a total of 67 Starlink units to the state, including 3 for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation and 4 designated for essential lifeline locations.
Will Ray, North Carolina’s director of Emergency Management, updated Biden on the three core focuses from the state’s emergency response team.
“From an operational standpoint, we’re really focused on three things currently. One, continuing life safety missions. Two, increase speed of commodity distribution into the western part of the state. And three, support of our infrastructure, particularly health care, water, power, and communications,” said Ray.
The director reported 16 county emergency operation centers that are open, as well as 29 shelters that currently have over 1200 occupants. More than 1600 personnel from North Carolina and the federal government have completed over 5,000 search and rescue interactions since the storm hit.
Cooper described his flyover experience, recounting the absolute and overwhelming devastation.
“Towns wiped off the map, bridges damaged or completely destroyed, critical infrastructure and water systems, electrical grids, communications, all remain seriously damaged, countless homes and businesses that are lost,” said Cooper. ”An entire region of our state is still in a dangerous situation. The good thing is that 92 search and rescue teams have saved countless lives and the search for people still goes on. We’re grateful to the 18 states who have sent help to us, thousands of line workers and utility workers, transportation workers, all trying to bring this area back.”
Tim, Chloe and Jaden are doing heroic work feeding the town of Black Mountain. The people of western NC are inspiring in the toughest of times and we’re going to have their back. pic.twitter.com/OpM04SbIJx
— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) October 2, 2024
The latest death toll stands at 184, making Helene the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005. Buncombe County officials reported 61 dead as of Wednesday afternoon.
