Asheville, North Carolina, devastated by Helene as state faces "unprecedented tragedy"
A crisis unfolded in Asheville, North Carolina, as officials pledged to get more water, food and other supplies to flood-stricken areas that had no power or cell service Monday, days after Hurricane Helene ripped across the U.S. Southeast. One-hundred-thirty-one deaths were attributed to the storm across six states as of Monday night, CBS News confirmed.
In Buncombe County, which includes Asheville, 40 deaths were reported.
"Devastation does not even begin to describe how we feel," Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said during a news conference.
Meanwhile, shelters have been at capacity, drinkable water has been scarce and misinformation has been a problem, county officials said. There was a "hoax" that a dam was in danger of failing, which prompted unnecessary evacuations of hundreds of people and diverted the attention of first responders.
"Please, please do not do not provide misinformation to our staff because this is delaying our response," Miller said.
Gov. Roy Cooper predicted the death toll would rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.
"This is an unprecedented tragedy that requires an unprecedented response," Cooper said at a press conference Sunday. He added that "we know there will be more" deaths as rescuers reach isolated areas.
Supplies were being airlifted to the region around the isolated city of Asheville.
"We hear you. We need food and we need water," Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder said. "My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and we've been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close."
Officials warned that rebuilding from the widespread loss of homes and property would be lengthy and difficult. The storm upended life throughout the Southeast. Deaths were also reported in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.
Cooper implored residents in western North Carolina to avoid travel, both for their own safety and to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. More than 50 search teams spread throughout the region in search of stranded people.
One rescue effort involved saving 41 people north of Asheville. Another mission focused on saving a single infant. The teams found people through both 911 calls and social media messages, North Carolina National Guard Adjutant General Todd Hunt said.
President Biden described the impact of the storm as "stunning." The White House said he would visit the area Wednesday.
In a brief exchange with reporters, Mr. Biden said the administration is giving states "everything we have" to help with their response to the storm.
Hurricane Helene roared ashore late Thursday in Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds. A weakened Helene quickly moved through Georgia, then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains that flooded creeks and rivers and strained dams.
There have been hundreds of water rescues, including in rural Unicoi County in East Tennessee, where dozens of patients and staff were plucked by helicopter from a hospital rooftop Friday.
More than 2 million homeowners and other utility customers were still without power Sunday night, according to FindEnergy.com. South Carolina had the most outages and Gov. Henry McMaster asked for patience as crews dealt with widespread snapped power poles.
"We want people to remain calm. Help is on the way, it is just going to take time," McMaster told reporters outside the airport in Aiken County.
The storm unleashed the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina. One community, Spruce Pine, was doused with over 2 feet of rain from Tuesday through Saturday.
The state was sending water supplies and other items toward Buncombe County and Asheville, but mudslides blocking Interstate 40 and other highways prevented supplies from making it. The county's own water supplies were on the other side of the Swannanoa River, away from where most of the 270,000 people in Buncombe County live, officials said.
Law enforcement was making plans to send officers to places that still had water, food or gas because of reports of arguments and threats of violence, the county sheriff said.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell toured south Georgia on Sunday and planned to be in North Carolina on Monday.
"It's still very much an active search and rescue mission" in western North Carolina, Criswell said. "And we know that there's many communities that are cut off just because of the geography" of the mountains, where damage to roads and bridges have cut off certain areas.
Criswell said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that the historic flooding in North Carolina has gone beyond what anyone could have planned for in the area.
"I don't know that anybody could be fully prepared for the amount of flooding and landslides that they are experiencing right now," she said.
Biden on Saturday pledged federal government help for Helene's "overwhelming" devastation. He also approved a disaster declaration for North Carolina, making federal funding available for affected individuals.