News

Here are storm relief updates

By Lightning Reports, Published: October 2, 2024

More than 700 NC National Guardsmen are on the ground helping with disaster recovery. The Guard as of Tuesday had provided 97,200 lbs of supplies by air transport, delivered 306 pallets of water and 230 pallets of food, conducted 60 hoist rescues and rescued 422 Western North Carolinians — 42 critically injured, four infants and 64 animals, U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards reported in his daily update Tuesday.

"A few days ago, I shared that the people of the United States are showing up for us, and today I’m hoping to bring a slight smile to your face by sharing that even the animals are too," he said.

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Tuesday that Florida is sending temporary bridges to North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s devastation on the state. On top of 7,500 feet of temporary bridges, the state is also sending a convoy of state Department of Transportation staff and “heavy equipment" to help rebuild roads and bridges.

Western North Carolina was ravaged by Hurricane Helene, making many areas of this mountainous region inaccessible by car. Our hardest hit communities have been relying on aerial deliveries for supplies, but a rancher from east of Charlotte decided to offer another route for resources, leading his dozen mules into hard-to-reach areas to deliver food, water and diapers.

Getting to these hard-to-reach areas is imperative, as hundreds of Western North Carolinians are still unaccounted for. The cell service outages and power blackouts are making it infinitely more difficult to locate missing people, but I know there are folks working around the clock to bring our friends and family safely home. So far, the National Guard has rescued over 400 residents, and they’re not going to stop searching anytime soon.

Reminder: If you are trying to connect with a friend or family member, you can call NC 211 (or 1-888-892-1162 if calling from out-of-state) to report missing loved ones or request a welfare check.

Additionally, people in the impacted areas can indicate that they are safe by reporting themselves safe through Red Cross Reunification by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Before I get to the update, I wanted to share one last resource for individuals with significant home damage. If your home has damages and you need assistance with clean up, please call Crisis Cleanup for access to volunteer organizations that can assist you at 844-965-1386.

Food and Water

• Supplying drinkable water remains a top priority for emergency crews.
  158 water systems are on a boil advisory, 46 plants have reported having no power, and 13 systems are out of water.
• Monday night, Duke Energy reported they were able to return power to the Marion water supply.
• The State of North Carolina has promised 40 trailer loads of water and 20 trailer loads of food daily through at least October 6.
• Counties are beginning to stand up Resource Hub locations for water distribution and other supplies as they become available:
• Etowah Elementary: 320 Etowah School Rd., Etowah, NC 28729
• Rugby Middle School: 3345 Haywood Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28791
  East Henderson High School: 150 Eagle Pride Dr., East Flat Rock, NC 28726
• North Henderson High School: 35 Fruitland Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28792
• Mills River Town Hall: 124 Town Center Dr., Mills River, NC 28759
• Fletcher Town Hall: 300 Old Cane Creek Rd., Fletcher, NC 28732
  Each family unit will be provided supplies for one day’s meal and water, as available.
  Individuals are asked to enter the drive-through and remain in your car unless otherwise instructed by volunteers to ensure an efficient process.
  
  

United States Postal Service

As of late Monday, September 30, all mail delivery operations in the following three-digit ZIP code areas (any ZIP code beginning with these numbers) have been suspended: 287, 288, 289

Power

Duke Energy has not changed their anticipated restoration of service date. Most customers in Western North Carolina can expect the power to be back on by Friday, October 4. NOTE: Customers in areas that are inaccessible, dependent on infrastructure that has been destroyed or are unable to receive service, may see additional delays. Thousands of linemen are working day and night to clear debris, reopen roadways and repair major portions of the power grid.

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.

North Carolina National Guard

• 706 North Carolina National Guard soldiers and airmen have been deployed to provide support to Western North Carolina so far. This includes the deployment of 250 vehicles, such as High-Water Vehicles, Palletized Load Systems for commodity distribution and Forestry Support Teams for debris clearance, and 19 helicopters. Air missions are continuing in support of search and rescue, damage assessments and supply delivery. A bulk transport of supplies will be flown into Asheville via NC Air National Guard C-17 transport.

So far, NCNG has:

• Provided 97,200 lbs of supplies by air transport
• Delivered 306 pallets of water and 230 pallets of food
• Conducted 60 hoist rescues
• Rescued 422 Western North Carolinians - 42 were critically injured, four were infants and 64 were animals.

Key phone numbers from the NCNG:

• HOTLINE: 888-892-1162
• Emergency Management Watch: 919-733-3300
• Donated Goods: 919-825-2474

Asheville Regional Airport

• Asheville Regional Airport closed mid-day on Friday, Sept. 27, due to risk of flooding.
• Commercial flights at Asheville Regional Airport have resumed.
• If you parked your car in an Asheville Regional Airport lot and could not retrieve the vehicle due to the storm, great news - none of the airport’s lots flooded and all cars are fine. Stay safe and pick up your car when you are able.

For NC-11 Medical Practices

• If you own a medical practice in NC-11 and are experiencing financial hardship due to Hurricane Helene, the North Carolina Medical Society will be reactivating its Financial Recovery Program (FRP) to help you recover and open your doors again. The FRP will be back online to provide much needed assistance soon.

Henderson County emergency shelters

• Edneyville Elementary School, 2875 Pace Rd., Hendersonville
• Henderson County Recreation Center, 708 S. Grove St.