News

630k still without power

By Bill Moss, Published: September 29, 2024

Swiftwater rescue teams from the area and across the state have rescued more than 200 people since Tropical Storm Helene approached the N.C. mountains, U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards said in his Sunday update on the circumstances on the ground.

It's significant that President Biden issued a major disaster declaration people Henderson, Buncombe, Clay, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, and Yancey counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians eligible for Individual Assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"Two days post-disaster and the country is showing up for us," Edwards said. "Thousands of linemen from across North America, including crews from Canada, have been deployed to our community to restore power, and we’ve seen the state come together to transport dozens of trucks filled with potable water and food to our shelters."

Edwards also reported that:

• 630,000 customers remained without power Saturday afternoon, including 3,400 critical customer accounts. Duke Energy continues to warn that Western North Carolinians should be prepared for multi-day outages. More than 11,000 linemen are continuing to work quickly and safely on repairs, including additional crews from 19 states and Canada. There is no timetable for restoring power/
• A total of 17 water plants have reported having no power and an additional 23 are operating on backup power. A total of 50 water systems are on a system-wide boil water advisory. Dozens of trucks carrying drinking water and meals have arrived and more are on the way.
• Asheville Regional Airport expected to reopen by mid-day Saturday but could not due to a lack of internet service, preventing commercial airlines from processing passengers for boarding. No commercial flights are permitted in or out of AVL at this time.
• 410 North Carolina National Guard soldiers and airmen have been deployed to provide support so far. They're equipped with 76 High Water Vehicles, 12 Palletized Load Systems for commodity distribution and six Forestry Support Teams for debris clearance.

Here is more:

While resources are certainly on the top of many communities’ minds, I have heard from numerous families that are still trying to connect with their loved ones who may be in areas with limited cell service. Residents trying to connect with family members may call NC 211 (or 1-888-892-1162 if calling from out-of-state) to report missing loved ones.

Additionally, people in the impacted areas can indicate that they are safe by reporting themselves safe through Red Cross Reunification by calling 1-800-ED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Please only use 911 for life-threatening emergencies so the lines remain open for critical situations.

Individual Assistance provides financial aid and services to eligible individuals and households that have been affected by a disaster to assist with the recovery process. Individuals can officially begin applying for Individual Assistance online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or by calling the application phone number at 1-800-621-3362 (TTY: 800-462-7585) between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. EST.

Just a reminder that today is update No. 2 of many, with more information to follow in the coming days. Please make sure to read everything and share it with your friends and family.

Food and Water

• Supplying drinkable water remains a top priority for emergency crews. Water plants in Haywood, Jackson, Rutherford and Yancey counties are closed, impacting tens of thousands of households. A total of 17 water plants have reported having no power and an additional 23 are operating on backup power.
• A total of 50 water systems are on a system-wide boil water advisory.
• Dozens of trucks with potable water and meals have successfully been delivered to western NC, including to the WNC Agricultural Center, and many more are en route. Air operations for food and water deliveries began Saturday afternoon in areas without roadway access.
• Walmart, Sam’s Club, and the Walmart Foundation have committed up to $6 million in support of hurricane relief efforts, including donations of food, water, essential supplies and grants to organizations providing relief.
• My office continues to work with additional private companies to get much needed food and water delivered across our district.

Power and gas

• Power outages remain widespread in Western North Carolina, but NCDOT is working diligently to clear roadways and increase accessibility for repairs. Currently, there is still no established timeline for restorations, but Duke Energy hopes to publish restoration power timelines in the coming days. I will keep you posted when we learn of those timelines.

Energy providers are working around the clock to restore power and have successfully restored power for over 544,000 customers across the state, but here is the lay of the land in NC-11:

• 630,000 customer accounts remained without power Saturday afternoon.
• The bulk of the outages are in Buncombe County.
• 3,400 critical customer accounts are out including hospitals, fire stations, police, EMS, water treatment facilities, etc.
• 1,600 are healthcare accounts
• 200 are nursing facilities
• As of Saturday evening, power has been restored to AdventHealth in Fletcher and my office has been assured that power at Pardee Hospital should be restored later this afternoon, Sunday, Sept. 29

SUBSTATIONS

360 substations are out. A substation is responsible for transmitting electricity throughout Western North Carolina. Many of these substations were completely flooded and Duke Energy is unable to assess the damage until the flooding has lowered, the water has been pumped out and the equipment is thoroughly dried.

• The flooding provides a unique challenge not previously faced by substations in Western North Carolina. There is a high likelihood that the substations are not reparable, and replacement of the substation equipment will be necessary. Duke Energy is prepared to both repair or replace damaged equipment once the equipment has been dried and assessments are complete.

• Duke Energy continues to warn that Western North Carolinians should be prepared for multi-day outages. Mor than 11,000 linemen are continuing to work quickly and safely on repairs, including additional crews from 19 states and Canada.

FUEL

• Fuel planning continues to be ongoing for both rescue operations and communications resources.
• Fuel contracts have been activated. A fuel contract provides a steady fuel reserve during an emergency.
• Air deliveries have already begun in hard-to-reach areas.

Roads

• A “DO NOT DRIVE” message remains in place from the North Carolina Department of Transportation for Western North Carolina. Unless it is an emergency, please do not travel.
• As of 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 27, 385 roads remain closed in Western North Carolina, with the majority being in Henderson (48), Buncombe (25) and Jackson (20) counties.
• More than 15 closed roads have been cleared of debris and reopened since Saturday morning.59 of these are on primary routes including I-40 at mile marker three near the Tennessee-North Carolina border and dozens of U.S. and N.C. routes.
• A previously closed section of I-26 south of Asheville has reopened.
• Crews have opened a path through the rock/landslide on I-40 near Old Fort to allow stranded vehicles and emergency responders to pass through with assistance from Highway Patrol.
• The remaining closures remain due to high water, land/rockslides, downed power lines, pipe failures and fallen trees.
• More than 100 additional NCDOT employees have been deployed from across the state to assist Western North Carolina in clearing debris and addressing storm-related road closures, bringing the total number of deployed NCDOT personnel to 1,600 employees.

Asheville Regional Airport

• Asheville Regional Airport closed mid-day on Friday, September 27, due to risk of flooding.
• The airport was expected to reopen by mid-day Saturday, September 28, but was unable to do so. The airport was unable to reopen for commercial flights due to a lack of internet service, preventing commercial airlines from processing their passengers for boarding. No commercial flights are permitted in or out of Asheville Regional Airport at this time.
• Asheville Regional Airport has reopened for non-commercial air traffic, including planes delivering National Guard supplies for in-need counties.

Cell Service

• Western North Carolina continues to see severe cell service outages due to the flooding.
• Service providers have deployed additional Compact Rapid Deployables since Friday, with more on the way.
  • and do not rely on commercial power supply.

North Carolina National Guard

• 410 North Carolina National Guard soldiers and airmen have been deployed to provide support to Western North Carolina so far. This includes the deployment of 76 High Water Vehicles, 12 Palletized Load Systems for commodity distribution and six Forestry Support Teams for debris clearance.
• The National Guard currently has 10 operating aircraft. The National Guard is actively awaiting 2 additional CH-47 aircraft from New York and two to four additional hoist-equipped aircraft from other states.
• The Asheville National Guard Armory remains relocated in East Flat Rock due to lost power. Despite the relocation, the Asheville National Guard Armory has continued operations and is providing support to Western North Carolina.

Shelters

• For those unable to evacuate to a safe location or in need of a place to go, the following shelters are currently open and available as of Sept. 29:
  • Buncombe
    • A-B Technical Community College
      • 340 Victoria Rd., Asheville, NC 28801
    • First Baptist Church Swannanoa
      • 503 Park St., Swannanoa, NC 28778
    • WNC Agricultural Center
      • 1301 Fanning Bridge Rd., Fletcher, NC 28732
  • Haywood
    • Haywood County Government Armory
      • 285 Armory Dr., Clyde, NC 28781
  • Henderson
    • Edneyville Elementary School
      • 2875 Pace Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28792
    • Henderson County Recreation Center
      • 708 S. Grove St., Hendersonville, NC 28792
  • Jackson
    • Cashiers Recreation Center
      • 355 Frank Allen Rd., Cashiers, NC 28717
    • Jackson County Department of Aging
      • 100 County Services Pk., Sylva, NC 28779
  • Madison
    • Madison County Wellness Center
      • 5734 US 25-70 Hwy., Marshall, NC 28752
  • McDowell
    • First Baptist Church of Old Fort
      • 203 E. Main St., Old Fort, NC 28762
    • Glenwood Baptist Church
      • 1550 Old US 221 S., Marion, NC 28752
    • McDowell County Senior Center
      • 100 Spaulding Rd., Marion, NC 28752
  • Polk
    • Polk County High School
      • 1681 NC 108 Highway E., Columbus, NC 28722
  • Rutherford
    • Rutherfordton/Spindale Central High School
      • 641 US 221 Hwy. N., Rutherfordton, NC 28139
  • Swain
    • Swain Community College
      • 125 Brendle St., Bryson City, NC 28713
  • Transylvania
    • Pisgah Forest Baptist Church
      • 494 Hendersonville Hwy., Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
  • Yancey
    • South Toe Elementary School
      • 139 South Toe School Rd., Burnsville, NC 28714
    • West Yancey Volunteer Fire Department
      • 6557 US Hwy. 19, Burnsville, NC 28714
    • erika mondya Sept. 30 all out incl pard blue M urg care nd spec and all appt are canc this also incld appt for eldti and imaging at the hiosptial. any em procedures can be handled at P H but all electice surgs and imaging are canel, stay off the road unless abs nec. pardee has set p a med disch shelter at HHS, this is not an emergency ewhslt, this is for medical discharge only, for temporayr. we don't want people showing up there thinking it's  shelter. only peo at that sh are disch from Pardee.