SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) — Many residents of the Carolinas still lacked running water, cellphone service and electricity Wednesday as rescuers searched for people unaccounted for after Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic damage across the Southeast and killed at least 166 people.
President Joe Biden in the two states as floodwaters receded and revealed more of left in Helene’s path. More than 1.2 million customers still had no power Wednesday in the Carolinas and Georgia, where tore far inland after initial landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
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. “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. 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, known for its art galleries, breweries and outdoor activities. In small Swannanoa, outside Asheville, cars stacked on top of others and mobile homes that had floated away. Sinkholes pockmarked roads caked with mud and debris.
Cliff Stewart survived 2 feet of water that poured into his home, topping the wheels on his wheelchair and s.
