North Carolina officials have pledged to get more water and supplies to flood-stricken areas after Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction across the US south-east, with the death toll rising to at least 107.
A North Carolina county that includes the mountain city of Asheville reported 30 people dead.
Governor Roy Cooper predicted the toll would rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.
[6:15 PM] While the hazardous weather brought to the region from the remnants of Hurricane Helene are long gone, the impacts from the system continue to be felt, with power outage restoration still ongoing. Visit our event summary page for more info: https://t.co/MBHwsZ4JEy. pic.twitter.com/Pb0Zb7n0Vj
— NWS Wilmington OH (@NWSILN) September 29, 2024
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Supplies were being airlifted to the region around the isolated city of Asheville. Buncombe County manager Avril Pinder pledged that she would have food and water to the city by Monday.
“We hear you. We need food and we need water,” Ms Pinder rold reporters.
“My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and we’ve been working with every single organisation that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close.”
Officials warned that rebuilding from the widespread loss of homes and property would be lengthy and difficult after the storm upended life throughout the south-east. Deaths also were reported in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.
Mr Cooper implored residents in western North Carolina to avoid travel, both for their own safety and to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. More than 50 search teams spread throughout the region in search of stranded people.
One rescue effort involved saving 41 people north of Asheville. Another mission focused on saving a single infant. The teams found people through both 911 calls and social media messages, North Carolina National Guard Adjutant General Todd Hunt said.
US President Joe Biden described the impact of the storm as “stunning” and said he would visit the area this week as long as it does not disrupt rescues or recovery work.
In a brief exchange with reporters, he said his administration is giving states “everything we have” to help with their response to the storm.
Hurricane Helene roared ashore late on Thursday in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane with 140mph winds.
A weakened Helene quickly moved through Georgia, then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains that flooded creeks and rivers and strained dams.
There have been hundreds of water rescues, including in rural Unicoi County in East Tennessee, where dozens of patients and staff were plucked by helicopter from a hospital rooftop on Friday.
More than two million homeowners and other utility customers were still without power on Sunday night. South Carolina had the most outages and governor Henry McMaster asked for patience as crews dealt with widespread snapped power poles.
“We want people to remain calm. Help is on the way, it is just going to take time,” Mr McMaster told reporters outside the airport in Aiken County.
The storm unleashed the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina. One community, Spruce Pine, was doused with over 2ft of rain from Tuesday through until Saturday.
