Helene Death Toll Surpasses 160 as Southeastern US Struggles to Recover from Storm
The slow process of damage assessment and recovery is beginning in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee — states that took the brunt of storm destruction. Meanwhile, Biden and Harris finally visit the region.
The death toll from Hurricane Helene hit 160 and is still climbing as rescue efforts continue across the Southeast and the region struggles to recover. The storm’s impact is historic.
Hard-hit regions, including parts of western North Carolina, are receiving aid from various states as emergency crews work to reach isolated communities devastated by catastrophic flooding.
Over 160 people are now confirmed dead in six states – Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. Helene is now the second-deadliest hurricane to strike the mainland U.S. in the last 55 years, topped only by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the most since Hurricane Camille hit the Gulf Coast in August 1969.
…At least 70 people are now confirmed dead in North Carolina, and hundreds of people remain unaccounted for due to the lack of power and communication access. Dozens of those deaths have come in Buncombe County, which is home to the city of Ashville.
Communities in western North Carolina were hit especially hard, with catastrophic flooding destroying hundreds of roads and bridges.
Thousands are still without water in North Carolina, which appears to have it the worst in the storm’s aftermath.
Tens of thousands of North Carolina residents remained without running water on Wednesday, six days after Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida and carved a destructive path through much of the U.S. Southeast, killing more than 160 people.
The powerful storm inundated the western part of the state with catastrophic flooding, destroying pipes, damaging water plants and cutting off power.
One-fifth of the 1 million residents in the western half of North Carolina either had no water at all or low system pressure on Wednesday, according to an online state database. About 1.2 million homes and businesses across multiple states remained without electricity, according to website Poweroutage.us.
In hard-hit Asheville, the municipal water supply system, which serves more than 150,000 residents, was badly damaged. Many residents have been warned to expect dry faucets for days or even weeks while pipes are repaired; those with water have been urged to boil it before consuming.
As I noted in an earlier report, many areas across Western North Carolina have struggled to find consistent internet and cellular connectivity. Therefore, the federal government arranged to send over 100 SpaceX Starlink kits, which are very effective in communicating during emergencies due to the nature of satellite technology.
However, if it had not been for political gamesmanship by the Federal Communication Commission, North Carolina’s rural area could have already had nearly 20,000 units operating before the storm began.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took to his social media platforms to express his ire at the situation. He is also upset that regulatory shenanigans forced the cost of Starlink to increase.
At the same time, the disaster prompted Musk to bash the FCC for denying millions to fund Starlink connectivity in US rural areas. On Tuesday, Musk took another shot at US regulators, accusing them of forcing SpaceX to inflate the costs for Starlink.
“By the way, the price could be much less if the government didn’t insist on so many crazy requirements that add no value,” he alleged in a tweet.
Had the FCC not illegally revoked the SpaceX Starlink award, it would probably have saved lives in North Carolina.
Lawfare costs lives. https://t.co/FF0ugexP2g
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 2, 2024
Florida, fortunately, is a little farther along the road to recovery. Gov. Rick DeSantis gave quite an impressive update on his state’s status.
According to the governor, there are still around 20,000 people still without power after Helene’s landfall. So far, the state has restored power to more than 2.3 million accounts. DeSantis commended the state’s ability to restore so many accounts less than a week after the storm, and assured those who are still waiting that linemen were continuously working to bring back their power.
In Georgia, more than 460,000 remain without power.
Recovery will be a long process, especially in hard-hit areas like Augusta and eastern Georgia. Residents are continuing to experience challenges, such as long lines at gas stations as power restoration efforts progress.
On Monday, Gov. Brian Kemp announced that the state had submitted a request to designate the situation a major disaster, a request he said was “very rare.” The entire Georgia declaration followed with a letter requesting Biden give his approval as soon as he could do so.
In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee and members of the state’s Congressional delegation toured affected areas. They estimate it will take months to completely recover from the damage.
Water and sewage systems are in disrepair, requiring airlifts of drinking water to some isolated communities and boil advisories for people living in 17 water districts — some serving parts of Tennessee that lack electricity to power stovetops. As of Tuesday at 12:30 p.m., there were 5,000 reports of power outages statewide.
Preliminary engineering assessments have concluded that restoring damaged or destroyed roads and bridges will take many months and hundreds of millions of dollars.
Meanwhile, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris finally made an official visit to the storm-struck states.
Biden landed in Greer, South Carolina, where he was met by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, among others, before boarding Marine One for an aerial tour of the region.
From the helicopter, Biden could see the grim devastation brought to parts of North Carolina, including Asheville and Chimney Rock. Over the Asheville metropolitan area, homes were smashed to bits, with the damage greatest near rivers, reporters in a trailing helicopter observed.…Harris, meanwhile, was briefed in Augusta, Georgia, alongside Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff and Representative Rick Allen. She joined Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson to survey the city’s Meadowbrook neighborhood.
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Comments
There ought to be a way to get longshoremen to pitch in and help, since they’re big and strong and not busy.
Combine stories and the hurricane can be made interesting again. Otherwise it dies the same scripted death of every other scripted hurricane story, which starts with the reporter in the rain on the street and ends with displacement by something more interesting.
The news is pretending to know what is important, which can be pulled off only for so long on a single story.
From John Rich this morning: ‘Just spoke to a friend of mine in law enforcement in NC…he said that they have, and I quote: “Already used over 500 body bags, and there are bodies in trees, mud, cars, houses, everywhere…No Fed support whatsoever.”
With respect to Georgia, Augusta had been hit particularly hard, something that really didn’t get much national coverage. There are still >50K w/o power in August alone, which is remarkable (a quarter of the population). I understand from friends in the city that straight-line winds really did a number to the golf course.
Good luck to everyone who is recovering from this.
Aid and Vote time!
First priority is helping everyone to a safer position than they are in.
Second is:
1) making it clear that the Feds under Biden/Harris have abandoned folks
2) Trump won’t
And most important
3) making sure to get everyone in this areas to the polls in the middle of a horrific event and painful recovery
Hence #1 is so important.
You better believe that Biden:Harris will be happy to make sure that bridge to the polling station and the mail for ballots from hard hit areas doesn’t get addessed if it’s red leaning
Aid and Vote!
I’m wondering, given the historic magnitude of the destruction, why a Title 10 order hasn’t been given to deploy the air assets of the 101st Airborne (located in KY at Fort Campbell) and the 82d Airborne (located at Fort Bragg NC). These active duty divisions have between them hundreds of helicopters, mobile hospitals and chow halls, the ability to rapidly deploy into difficult areas, and specialty vehicles. Perhaps I’m missing something but IIRC active duty components were pretty quickly deployed after Katrina.
You have to ask?
It was President Trump that valled Musk and got this rolling, not the Feds
“As I noted in an earlier report, many areas across Western North Carolina have struggled to find consistent internet and cellular connectivity. Therefore, the federal government arranged to send over 100 SpaceX Starlink kits, which are very effective in communicating during emergencies due to the nature of satellite technology.“
Internet connectivity is important and props to Musk for making Starlink available, but that’s not the question I asked. Air mobile resources are far more important at this point. There are literally hundreds of UH60’s and CH47’s at Campbell and Pope. You use helicopters to rescue people in mountainous terrain. Why are these not being put to use?
Well apparently the 82nd Airborne cant help because they are busy training somewhere in the US.
This Biden-Harris administration is an abomination and shit like this SHOULD be the end of their run for November!
Reportedly (I forget where I heard this), the 82nd Airborne are at a staging area and being told to stand down instead of getting aid to where it’s needed. I’m sure they are terribly frustrated at being unable to do their jobs. I wonder what their breaking point is when they finally just say “eff it” and do what they need to.
I’ve heard that Title 10 orders are being held up by resistance from the NC and TN governors. I don’t fully understand the process required to deploy active duty assets to domestic natural disasters, but it’s been six days and nothing. I can absolutely imagine how frustrated they are, and rightfully so.
I’m hoping that we will know much more about this soon.
https://pjmedia.com/chris-queen/2024/10/02/politicians-are-hindering-rescue-efforts-in-north-carolina-and-one-rescuer-has-had-enough-n4933010
And this- maddening if true (and I believe it is):
https://rumble.com/v5hbud1-fema-and-the-harris-regime-are-confiscating-supplies-grounding-planes-and-c.html?e9s=src_v1_upp
this statement of yours will end up applying to other, even more grave situations
its a coming
The federal fiscal year just began on Tuesday and …
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster fund is already running out of money in a year that’s setting records for billion-dollar weather disasters – all before the peak of Atlantic hurricane season has even arrived.
Part of the problem here is that we have come to *expect* the federal government to come over the hill in a cavalry charge to save the day and time and time again they have utterly and completely failed.
The very things that get resources to where they need to be the government actively tries to thwart from telling people who have the means to help to stay away to trying to legislate “price gouging”.
The federal government could help out best by staying away.
I hope that Musk does end up heading a government efficiently effort. I’ll bet that 3/4 of our federal government could be completely eliminated and we would actually be better off.
Why aren’t the longshoremen being charged with price gouging? “You need supplies to recover? Well, you’re gonna have to pay me almost double now to help. We’re gonna cripple you!”
NC has a price gouging law, which of course prevents people from supplying what’s in short supply.
Mike Munger on a NC hurricane he went through where enforcers actively destroyed imported supplies
https://youtu.be/8_z-GnhHyGg
very entertaining econtalk podcast, I guarantee you won’t be bored. It’s from back when economics was concerned with perverse side effects before it was feminized.
fjb exclaimed
good ! that’ll teach those whitesupremacists from messn wit popcorns
Within 48-hours of Katrina making landfall, close to 300 people were evacuated from rooftops by helicopter and boat. By the 4th day after landfall, the Super Dome had been fully evacuated. And yet, everyone knew the name of Bush’s Fema director – Michael Brown – because he had been turned into Hitler by cable news by that 4th day (actually on day one).
What’s the name of Biden’s Fema Director? I bet you don’t know. I sure didn’t.
We live in north Georgia, 10 mikes from the NC line state link. Since the first of the week, many local businesses and NFP’s have organized local drives and sent private trucks of supplies to various areas of North Carolina. Most main highways here are built next to rivers and they have brought back reports of bodies of the deceased in still trees. There is still not any outside help in many locations. The state and federal government have not shown up for these people.
A large southern grocery store chain is based in Asheville (Ingles’ Markets). That is the only large grocery store in our community as well as many others. Their warehouse is underwater, and their computer system is unavailable. The stores are only able to take cash payments and there are no deliveries coming in. The pharmacy cannot fill prescriptions
I believe that if and when an accurate total of deceased individuals will be well up in the 4 figures if not 5.
My husband and I worked in Biloxi 13 days after Katrina. This is so much worse. At least in Biloxi, you could drive into neighborhoods and around town to get supplies. Many of these residential areas in the mountains are completely shut off. No one can get in with supplies and no one can get out for help.
This is the saddest thing I have ever seen. FEMA was not prepared nor was Gov. Cooper.
Yeah the death toll is gonna go way higher. Folks in mountains cut off w/o water, electricity, access to additional medication or oxygen tanks nor a way keep things like insulin cold. I suspect the number of folks dying in the aftermath due to lack of things a modern society takes for granted is probably at least equal to the number list in the storm itself.
I don’t know beans about emergency management but failing to get helicopters into the area in far larger numbers to do S&R in the flipping mountains after severe storm/flooding washed out the bridges and narrow roads seems insanely stupid.
The refusal to sign Title 10 paperwork, along with the near presence of a huge number of Army helicopters in the region argue that the lack of helicopter response is a deliberate political decision by those in power. After all, this is far from the first time this has had to be done. The worst hit areas are in the most conservative areas of the state(s) and their absence in any putative election in November could mean a Harris victory. Combine that with the Federal attempts to prevent civilian aid helicopters and drones from flying and today’s admission that the FEMA budget is gone and was probably used for the hostile foreign invaders.
Something I heard yesterday. Usually, we have convoys of semi’s loaded with aid heading to disasters like this. There are brokers who contract with FEMA to organize them. Trucking companies register with the brokers to move loads where needed in an emergency and the brokers are told what to get where by FEMA. Apparently the brokers have not been contacted by FEMA. So no aid convoys.
It feels downright Holodomor-ish out.
Subotai Bahadur
I agree.
Thankfully people like this and their mules are making the trek to those hard to reach.
https://x.com/777katemt/status/1841628256036126879?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1841628256036126879%7Ctwgr%5Ecb4d38aa9dd75a81a41d6cd168337aa32b5d33cb%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2024%2F10%2Fmountain-mules-join-cajun-navy-do-what-biden%2F
https://x.com/DrClaytonForre1/status/1841514038548643899?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1841514038548643899%7Ctwgr%5Ea33cdafc12e87012f507f7d28e6c3253a66aa91c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2024%2F10%2Fmountain-mules-join-cajun-navy-do-what-biden%2F
There is a reason there is no “help”, and it’s all political
https://pjmedia.com/chris-queen/2024/10/02/politicians-are-hindering-rescue-efforts-in-north-carolina-and-one-rescuer-has-had-enough-n4933010
thanks
It looks like the United States of America has become a third world shithole
Upstate SC was devastated as well. In Greenwood County, where I live, many houses are still without power–99% of us lost power. My house still does not have any power 7 days on. I am at my daughter’s house; they got power yesterday after 6 days. Our neighborhoods look as though a bomb dropped. Trees through roofs everywhere you look. Most roads are finally cleared, although some streets are still impassable. Two volunteer firefighters in nearby Saluda County died when a tree fell on their engine as they tried to answer a call. One man in our city died when a tree fell into his bedroom. The damage will be visible for years to come. Even so, the mountains of NC had it worse.
From on the ground people. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/oG9jrYe7xKN8KK6M/