This devastation isn’t only in low-lying coastal areas, but in places like Asheville — a mountain town hundreds of miles from the coast. More than 100 people are dead and many more are still missing, cut off from transportation and communication by flooded, washed-away roads, power outages, and cell-tower failures. Millions of people’s lives will never be the same:
The full picture of devastation is emerging from Hurricane Helene’s disastrous and deadly path through Western North Carolina.
Homes, businesses, roads, infrastructure, cell towers, and anything else in Helene’s path were washed away or severely damaged by raging flood waters and strong winds. For so many of the nearly 1 million residents in Western North Carolina’s beautiful mountains, the recovery process has barely begun.
Neighbors are trying to help one another and relief programs, both national and local, are mobilizing.
I’m an avid reader of the independent reporting from North Carolina-based The Assembly. The outlet produces mostly long-form pieces, but they’re covering this breaking news story too and you may want to follow their coverage. Here’s some of it:
- Evacuees Take Refuge in Fletcher Ag Center-Turned-Shelter
- As Floods Subside, Uncertainty Reigns
- How to Get Help After Hurricane Helene
A reminder that one candidate for president believes in both climate science and effective government. The other doesn’t. And he wants to get rid of NOAA and to privatize the National Weather Service.
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