UPDATE: The confirmed death toll in Buncombe County has climbed to 30, the sheriff said at a Sept. 29, 4 p.m. briefing.
ASHEVILLE – There have been 10 confirmed deaths in Buncombe County as a result of Tropical Storm Helene, the sheriff said at a Sept. 29, 10 a.m. briefing.
Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said the county would not release names at this time.
“Without more phone and internet access, we cannot share those names without being absolutely certain that we have given their loved ones this information,” Miller said. “Our hearts are broken with this news and we ask that folks give our community the space and time to grieve this incredible loss.”
Miller said “as those numbers increase, we will provide that information as soon as we possibly can.”
Tropical Storm Helene swept through Asheville Sept. 27 leaving “biblical devastation” in its wake, with historic flooding, massive power outages, dam and reservoir breaches and countless downed trees. Widespread cell service disruptions and impassable roads left people cut off, disconnected or trapped in their homes.
Whole areas of the city were underwater. Rivers breached their banks at record high levels. At least 5,000 emergency calls to 911 were fielded since storms began. The National Weather Service reported 6 to 22 inches of rainfall for the Asheville area. In Mount Mitchell State Park – in Yancey County about 35 miles northeast of Asheville – home to the highest peak east of the Mississippi River at 6,684 feet, gusts reached 106 mph.
As of 8 p.m. Sept. 28, a confirmed 10 North Carolinians had died due to Helene, according to a release from Gov. Roy Cooper’s office. The latest was a man who drove his truck on a flooded road. Miller said he did not know how many Buncombe deaths were included in the state total.
Utilities and communications are returning in some areas, the release said, but it may be days before service is fully restored.
In Buncombe County, the morning of Sept. 29, the Duke outage map reported 94,685 people without power.
How many requests has the county received for missing people?
The Register of Deeds has developed a web-based form to assist people in finding and connecting with residents of Buncombe County. Anyone inside or outside of Buncombe County can use this to report someone who might be missing or who cannot be reached.
As of morning, Sept. 29, Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger said they had received more than 6,000 requests from family members seeking a wellness check. 3,900 of those people are in Buncombe County, while the rest are in other parts of Western North Carolina.
The Family Assistance Form can be found at https://bit.ly/3BjnVWq. You can also call 828-820-2761.
Information will be reviewed by the Buncombe Search Team, which will create and maintain a list of people who are currently unreachable and work with Buncombe County Emergency Operations Center to find information.
Are there water distribution sites?
County Manager Avril Pinder said they are still working to set up food and water distribution sites. None are currently available.
Pinder said the location of sites would be shared “as soon as they are available.” She said transportation has been “the biggest hold up.”
“We know individual organizations are providing support, we don’t have a list of those, but we know that for Buncombe county to get through this, we are all going to need to lift each other up and fill in those gaps,” Pinder said.
She said they have received some aid from the state. Helicopters have dropped resources in the “hardest hit areas.”
Earlier on the call, during an update from Swannanoa Fire Chief Anthony Penland, he said could hear a helicopter coming in.
Of parts of old U.S. Highway 70 he said, simply, “It’s not there anymore.”
“The intent was to have that up sometime today,” Pinder said of the distribution sites in the county.
“We intend to have some water services if you will bear with us and be patient one more day. I hate to say that because I know how desperate water is in our community, but we are pushing as hard as we can to get them up the mountain.”
Pinder acknowledged the timeline has been a “moving target” and “very frustrating.” They have been working with state emergency management to push for water. The county has been identifying sites and staff to work the sites once resources arrive, she said.
“As soon as we know the ETA of the water getting here, or the food getting here, we will put that out,” Pinder said.
To a question about why no other existing water supplies were on hand, Pinder said they did have resources, but it was “on the other side of the river in Swannanoa so that has been cut off for us as well.”
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the state of North Carolina, according to a Sept. 28 White House press release. The president’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Buncombe County and others surrounding it.
This story will be updated.
More: Asheville, NC flooding live updates: ‘Biblical devastation’ as Biden declares major disaster
More: Asheville, NC flooding: Multiple fatalities reported in Buncombe County, officials say; ‘Biblical devastation’
Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email [email protected] or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville NC floods: 30 dead in Buncombe County from Helene
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