ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — President Joe Biden was set to survey the devastation in the mountains of Western North Carolina on Wednesday, where exhausted emergency workers continued to work around-the-clock to clear roads, restore power and cellphone service, and reach people left stranded by Hurricane Helene.
The storm killed at least 133 people and hundreds more were still unaccounted for on Monday night, four days after Helene initially made landfall. Meanwhile, election officials across the South were making emergency preparations to ensure displaced residents would be able to vote in the upcoming presidential election. Officials in the hard-hit said their water system suffered “catastrophic” damage that could take weeks to fully repair.
Government officials, aid groups and volunteers were working to deliver supplies by air, truck and even mule to the town and surrounding mountain communities. At least 40 people died in the county that includes Asheville. The North Carolina death toll included one horrific story after another of people who were trapped by floodwaters in their homes and vehicles or were killed by falling trees.
A courthouse security officer died after being submerged inside his truck. A couple and a 6-year-old boy waiting to be rescued on a rooftop drowned when part of their home collapsed. Rescuers did manage to save dozens, including an infant and two others stuck on the top of a car in Atlanta.
More than 50 hospital in Tennessee were plucked by helico.
