Hurricane Helene Devastates Western North Carolina (Updated)

Hurricane Helene devastates western North Carolina (Updated)

A local resident helps free a car that became stranded in a stretch of flooded road as Tropical Storm Helene strikes, on the outskirts of Boone, North Carolina, U.S. September 27, 2024. Photo: Jonathan Drake, REUTERS.

Things are unimaginably bad in western North Carolina & far eastern Tennessee right now. Whole towns have been swallowed by landslides, mudslides and floods. That's Chimney Rock, NC, below; photos taken from same location after/before the storm.

Chimney Rock, NC, after Hurricane Helene & before.

I-40 at the North Carolina / Tennessee border is washed out, collapsed into the Pigeon River.

Interstate 40 is impassible at the Tennessee/North Carolina border, due to the eastbound lanes being washed into the Pigeon River. (See above photo.) Essentially all roads are closed in the region. 400,000+ customers are reported without power, and cell towers are damaged or down, so nobody can reach anyone, and we don't know the full scale of the damage yet.

Shared by North Carolina's Weather Authority page on Fb 9/28:

“I’m sorry to text so early. Our friend, Steve, Black Mountains Police Chief, got home this morning to get some rest and then he’s headed back to Black Mountain. He’s been up for 72 hours evacuating and rescuing. It’s catastrophic in that area. Montreat and Swannanoa are gone. Neighborhoods are gone from flooding or mudslides. They’re having to leave bodies behind, houses are on fire. There’s no communication so people that need to be rescued can’t call for help so they have no idea where to look. The flood current is so strong and they weren’t able to save some people that were in their cars. No one even knows this is going on right now because of having no communication. We’ve been watching the news since we woke up this morning and it hasn’t even been mentioned. So many prayers are needed. My heart is so heavy.”

Update from Buncombe County.
Emergency response to the catastrophic natural disaster caused by Hurricane Helene has continued overnight with additional state and federal resources.
⚠️All rivers remain at major flood status.
🚫Do not call 911 to report downed trees, power lines, or outages. The 911 center will not provide updates on road conditions, power restoration, or internet service.
🚗 I-40 and I-26 are impassable in multiple locations. All roads in Western North Carolina should be considered closed. Motorists should not travel in this area, should not attempt to drive through standing water, and must respect barricades and road closure signs. Refer to drivenc.gov for current road conditions. NC Highway Patrol urges people not to drive unless it’s an absolute emergency.
💧The boil water advisory for Asheville continues. Woodfin water continues to see outages.
📱Cellular coverage – Buncombe County remains without cellular coverage. There is no ETA for restoration.
💡More than 100,000 Duke Power customers remain without power in Buncombe County.
🏠 The emergency shelter at the WNC Ag Center is currently serving 400 people. An additional shelter at AB Tech will open as soon as roads into the location are passable. That announcement will be made.

Area news & info:

North Carolina's Weather Authority (Facebook)

NC Emergency Management Facebook page

Asheville Citizen-Times

Brad Panovich (Chief Meteorologist, WCNC Charlotte, Twitter)

Donations:

(Updated 9/28/24 at 8:20pm Eastern)

Blue Ridge Public Radio has a list of ways to help.

The American Red Cross

They've opened at least 15 shelters, and are the best positioned organization to help the entire region. Make a donation (money or blood, or volunteer) if you can, and please reblog this post.

More Posts from Da-great-dean and Others

da-great-dean

7 months ago

Tags

animals cat cats cats of tumblr fyp ebony! nc north carolina trending viral trends

20 notes View Post

da-great-dean

7 months ago

50 posts!

Tags

tumblr milestone 50 posts

0 notes View Post

da-great-dean

7 months ago

Tags

women... fyp viral relationships nc north carolina independent woman

2 notes View Post

da-great-dean

8 months ago

HOLLA CENTER TAEKWONDO CLASS MORVEN NC 28119

0 notes View Post

da-great-dean

6 months ago

Tags

Spotify black music fyp black women black queen ebony! black beauty black men north carolina black king

28 notes View Post

da-great-dean

7 months ago

Tags

black black aesthetic fyp relationship black women black girl magic black girl black tumblr south carolina black queen ebony! nurse black beauty black men nc north carolina black girl beauty thick hips thick babe SC thick ebony thick curves beautiful black women sexy ebony black king black goddess ebony goddess black freaks

12 notes View Post

da-great-dean

7 months ago