Current:Home > InvestDrone video captures Helene's devastation in Asheville, North Carolina -ProsperityStream Academy
Drone video captures Helene's devastation in Asheville, North Carolina
View
Date:2025-04-12 09:58:58
Severe weather and historic flooding brought by Hurricane Helene killed at least 100 people across the Southeast including in Asheville, North Carolina where residents are scrambling to find resources amid gas and water shortages.
Since the system's landfall in Florida's Big Bend area late Thursday, hundreds of water rescues have occurred across the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. Power outages left over 2 million homes and businesses in the dark as of Monday.
In Asheville, torrential rain destroyed vehicles and homes while leaving roads submerged. At least 35 people died in Buncombe County, which encompasses Asheville, though the death toll is expected to rise, the sheriff said Monday. Officials have also received about 600 missing persons reports, though many are presumably due to communication blackouts.
Helene has also severely damaged the city's water system, Asheville officials said in a statement Saturday.
"Extensive repairs are required to treatment facilities, underground and aboveground water pipes, and to roads that have washed away which are preventing water personnel from accessing parts of the system," the City of Asheville said in the statement.
Watch drone footage of flooding in Asheville, North Carolina
Estimates: Helene caused between $15 billion and $100 billion damage
Insurers and forecasters have projected that catastrophic damage caused by Helene is somewhere between $15 billion and $100 billion.
"We have biblical devastation through the county," Buncombe County Emergency Services Assistant Director Ryan Cole said. "We’ve had biblical flooding here."
President Joe Biden has sent Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell to remain on the ground in Asheville "until the situation has stabilized," the agency said Monday.
"We'll continue to serve resources including food, water, communications, and lifesaving equipment will be there," Biden said. "I mean it − as long as it takes to finish this job."
FEMA said 10 federal search and rescue teams were in the region Monday and more nine teams were on the way totaling 900 active personnel. The agency will also bring essentials on the ground including 25 trailer-loads of meals, 60 trailer-loads of waters, and C-17 cargo plane full of food and water. The agency is also utilizing Starlink satellites to enhance responder communications and has 18 helicopters on standby to bring more needed resources.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has also brought more than 500 National Guard soldiers and airmen as well as over 200 vehicles and aircraft to save lives in the affected areas.
veryGood! (541)
Related
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- 'We couldn't save Rani': Endangered elephant dies at St. Louis Zoo after unknown heart changes
- Former AP videojournalist Yaniv Zohar, his wife and 2 daughters killed in Hamas attack at their home
- Trevor Lawrence injury updates: Latest on Jaguars QB's status for 'TNF' game vs. Saints
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Security incident involving US Navy destroyer in Red Sea, US official says
- Mississippi man sentenced to 9 years in prison for attacking Capitol police on Jan. 6
- The Guardian fires longtime cartoonist after allegations of antisemitic imagery
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- X, formerly Twitter, tests charging new users $1 a year to use basic features
Ranking
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Sylvester Stallone Mourns Death of Incredible Rocky Costar Burt Young
- While visiting wartime Israel, New York governor learns of her father’s sudden death back home
- The Best Barbie Halloween Costume Ideas: Everything You Need to Look Plastic and Fantastic
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- In big year for labor, California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivers both wins and surprises
- Detroit-area county will use federal money to erase medical debts
- A composer's surprising decision to be buried in a mass grave
Recommendation
What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
$249M in federal grid money for Georgia will boost electric transmission and battery storage
Mary Lou Retton's Daughter Details Scary Setback Amid Olympian’s Hospitalization
Black dolls made from 1850s to 1940s now on display in Rochester museum exhibit
Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
New shark species discovered in Mammoth Cave National Park fossils, researchers say
More PGA Tour players will jump to LIV Golf for 2024 season, Phil Mickelson says
The Guardian fires longtime cartoonist after allegations of antisemitic imagery