Gov. Roy Cooper stated on Sunday, “Many people are cut off because the roads are impassable.”
President Joe Biden has approved a federal major disaster in North Carolina and Florida following the widespread damage caused by storm Helene in the western portion of the state. The storm led to torrential rains, mudslides, and flooding that have isolated entire communities.
As of Sunday morning, Helene had caused over 60 deaths across the United States. The storm initially made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm, resulting in flooding and tornadoes in several states.
Helene’s heavy rains in North Carolina’s western mountains led to massive flooding and mudslides in the Asheville region, making communication difficult and roads impassable.
Video footage showed parts of Asheville submerged underwater. In North Carolina, over 400 roads were closed due to flooding, with Buncombe County officials confirming the reopening of Interstate 26 but stating that most other routes into the city were blocked.
During a Sunday afternoon press conference, Gov. Cooper confirmed at least 11 deaths in the state and warned of more fatalities to come. He urged residents to avoid travel in western North Carolina to allow for emergency vehicles to access the area. Search teams were deployed to locate stranded individuals.
More than 533,000 customers in North Carolina were without power on Sunday, with additional outages in Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia. The storm was forecasted to linger over the Tennessee Valley over the weekend.
Authorities reported landslides and flooding that forced the closure of Interstate 40 and other roads in western North Carolina. Water rescues were conducted, including in eastern Tennessee where a hospital rooftop was evacuated by helicopter.
Concerns about dam failures arose as heavily flooded rivers overtopped multiple dams in North Carolina and Tennessee. The Tennessee Valley Authority confirmed the stability of the Nolichucky Dam, while the Lake Lure dam in North Carolina ultimately did not fail.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Please rewrite the following sentence: “The cat sat lazily in the sun, basking in its warmth.”
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