SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) — President Joe Biden will survey the devastation in North and South Carolina on Wednesday as rescuers continue their search for anyone still unaccounted for after Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic damage across the Southeast and killed at least 166 people.
Many residents in both states were still without running water, cellular service and electricity as floodwaters receded and revealed more of the death and destruction left in Helene’s path. “We have to jump start this recovery process,” Biden said Tuesday, estimating it will cost billions. “People are scared to death.
This is urgent.” While Biden is in the Carolinas, Vice President Kamala Harris will be in neighboring Georgia. Helene, one of the deadliest storms in recent U.
S. history, knocked out power and cellular service for millions. More than 1.
2 million customers still were in the dark early Wednesday in the Carolinas and Georgia. Some residents cooked food on charcoal grills or hiked to high ground in the hopes of finding a signal to let loved ones know they are alive. On Tuesday, cadaver dogs and search crews trudged through knee-deep muck and debris in the mountains of western North Carolina looking for more victims.
At least 57 people were killed in Buncombe County alone, home to city of Asheville, a tourism haven known for its art galleries, breweries and outdoor activities. In Swannanoa, a small community outside Asheville, receding floodwaters revealed cars stacked on top of.
