Current:Home > StocksDrone video captures Helene's devastation in Asheville, North Carolina -InfinityFinance
Drone video captures Helene's devastation in Asheville, North Carolina
View
Date:2025-04-18 20:18:41
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! (3546)
Related
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- New Beauty I'm Obsessed With This Month— Kylie Cosmetics, Covergirl, Saie, Rhode, Revlon, and More
- Will Taylor Swift attend Super Bowl 58 to cheer on Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce?
- Shohei Ohtani joining Dodgers 'made too much sense' says Stan Kasten | Nightengale's Notebook
- The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
- Taylor Swift and Jason Kelce Support Travis Kelce at AFC Championship
- USA Hockey will mandate neck laceration protection for players under 18 effective Aug. 1
- Mahomes, Kelce are headed to the Super Bowl after Chiefs shut down Ravens 17-10
- The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds
- 2 officers on Florida’s Space Coast wounded, doing ‘OK’
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- 52 killed in clashes in the disputed oil-rich African region of Abyei, an official says
- South Carolina town mayor is killed in a car crash
- How was fugitive Kaitlin Armstrong caught? She answered U.S. Marshals' ad for a yoga instructor
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- North Korean cruise missile tests add to country’s provocative start to 2024
- New Orleans jury convicts man in fatal shooting of former Saints player Will Smith
- Watch: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce share celebratory kiss after Chiefs win AFC championship
Recommendation
McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
Court orders China Evergrande property developer to liquidate after it failed to reach debt deal
US safety agency closes probe into Dodge and Ram rotary gear shifters without seeking a recall
How Dakota Johnson Honored Taylor Swift on SNL
Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
Felipe Nasr, Porsche teammates give Roger Penske his first overall Rolex 24 win since 1969
Ukrainian-born model Carolina Shiino crowned Miss Japan, ignites debate
2 are in custody in Mississippi after baby girl is found abandoned behind dumpsters