Desperate residents of the storm-battered mountains of western North Carolina lined up for water and food, hunted for cellphone signals and slogged buckets from creeks to flush toilets days after Hurricane Helene’s remnants deluged the region. Emergency workers toiled around the clock to clear roads, restore power and phone service, and reach people stranded by the storm, which has a death toll of more than 150 people across the Southeast. President Joe Biden is set to survey the devastation Wednesday.
Follow AP’s coverage of tropical weather at https://apnews.com/hub/weather . Here’s the latest: Kirk became a hurricane in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday.
The storm could strengthen into a major hurricane by Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The storm was about 1,070 miles (1,720 kilometers) west of the Cabo Verde Island with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph). There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect, and the storm system was not yet deemed a threat to land. The University of North Carolina at Asheville will remain closed until Oct.
14 and will not restart classes until Oct. 28 at the earliest in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the school's chancellor said in a social media post Tuesday. While the public university in western North Carolina’s largest city received minimal structural damage from the historic flooding and winds, it’s lacked electricity, running water and internet service since last Friday, Chancellor Kimbe.