Maryland rescue team saves over 100 trapped in Western North Carolina floods

BALTIMORE -- It's been one week since Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeast and devastated Western North Carolina with heavy rains and severe flooding. 

Many people are trapped as hundreds of roads in Western North Carolina have been inaccessible due to the storm.  

A team of rescuers from Maryland have been working around the clock to try to get to the isolated people, many without food and water.  

Maryland Hart is made up of 24 highly skilled first responders from fire departments and emergency services departments across the Baltimore region. They're in North Carolina right now rescuing people by helicopter from the devastation. 

At least 225 people have been confirmed dead, and officials say they expect the death toll to continue to rise as recovery efforts continue. 

"It happened in the mountains, there's a lot of small communities and unfortunately they've been cut off either by the flooding, bridges washing out, or mudslides," Michael Berna, Maryland Hart Civilian Team Administrator said. 

Berna is also one of the founding members of Maryland Hart, which stands for Helicopter Aquatic Response Team. He says the team, comprised of first responders from Harford, Montgomery, Howard, and Baltimore Counties, arrived in Western North Carolina on September 27 and immediately got to work. 

"That was the day they really saw people...I'll say in the greatest peril. There were still floodwaters, there were still mudslides occurring," Berna explained. 

As the days went on, Berna said people who were trapped but not in immediate danger started to run out of food, water, or medication. 

"Our air assets have been key because it's been extremely difficult to get anything in by ground," he said. 

Since they arrived, the team has covered 2,295 miles by air, according to Berna. As of Thursday, they've rescued 71 adults, 10 children, 2 infants, and over 20 dogs by way of multiple hoist missions. 

"A lot of the area is inaccessible, there may not be room to land the helicopter. If they can they certainly will, but that has forced our team to conduct a lot of hoist missions," he said. 

Missions like these are what the Maryland Hart trains for year-round. 

Many people are trapped as hundreds of roads in Western North Carolina have been inaccessible due to the storm.  

A team of rescuers from Maryland have been working around the clock to try to get to the isolated people, many without food and water.  

 Maryland Hart is made up of 24 highly skilled first responders from fire departments and emergency services departments across the Baltimore region. They're in North Carolina right now rescuing people by helicopter from the devastation. 

At least 225 people have been confirmed dead, and officials say they expect the death toll to continue to rise as recovery efforts continue. 

"It happened in the mountains, there's a lot of small communities and unfortunately they've been cut off either by the flooding, bridges washing out, or mudslides," Michael Berna, Maryland Hart Civilian Team Administrator said. 

Berna is also one of the founding members of Maryland Hart, which stands for Helicopter Aquatic Response Team. He says the team, comprised of first responders from Harford, Montgomery, Howard, and Baltimore Counties, arrived in Western North Carolina on September 27 and immediately got to work. 

"That was the day they really saw people...I'll say in the greatest peril. There were still floodwaters, there were still mudslides occurring," Berna explained. 

As the days went on, Berna said people who were trapped but not in immediate danger started to run out of food, water, or medication. 

"Our air assets have been key because it's been extremely difficult to get anything in by ground," he said. 

Since they arrived, the team has covered 2,295 miles by air, according to Berna. As of Thursday, they've rescued 71 adults, 10 children, 2 infants, and over 20 dogs by way of multiple hoist missions. 

"A lot of the area is inaccessible, there may not be room to land the helicopter. If they can they certainly will, but that has forced our team to conduct a lot of hoist missions," he said. 

Missions like these are what the Maryland Hart trains for year-round.