(This article will be updated. Read our earlier coverage here.)
It’s been a week since Tropical Storm Helene marched through North Carolina, bringing heavy rains to already water-logged areas. The storm left communities devastated, roads impassable and thousands without power.
The state’s death toll climbed to at least 108 people Thursday as searches continued for hundreds of missing residents throughout Western North Carolina, officials said.
More communities were beginning to transition from relief to recovery by Friday, but many local and state officials cautioned them, saying a return to normalcy would take weeks, not days, as the full scope of Helene’s devastation is not expected to be known for some time.
Check back for live updates as they roll in throughout the day Friday.
First Look: Biltmore Estate gives damage update after Helene
The Biltmore Estate gave an update to its guests on social media Thursday evening outlining the damage the 8,000-acre property sustained after Tropical Storm Helene’s destructive force swept through western North Carolina and Asheville last week.
Portions of the grounds, including the farms, suffered significant flooding and damage to buildings. Several animals at the farm have died as a result of flooding and other conditions, the update said. It noted that Biltmore House, Conservatory, winery, gardens, and the hotels received minimal or no damage from the storm.
Read the full update here.
— Tyler Vazquez, USA Today Network
Lake Lure, Chimney Rock, Spruce Pine: See aerial views before, after Helene
Wonder what a bird’s eye view of Helene’s impact on a North Carolina neighborhood actually looks like? Aerial photos taken by Nearmap, and satellite images captured by Maxar Technologies, are giving us before and after shots of towns like Spruce Pine, Chimney Rock, Hendersonville and Lake Lure.
Check them out here along with other images of the damage left in Helene’s wake in other hard hit areas, like Florida.
— USA TODAY
Feeling bites, stings? Good news, bad about yellow jackets, mosquitoes
Because of the high winds and catastrophic flooding brought by Helene to the WNC region, hundreds of thousands of yellow jackets find themselves in the same predicament as many of the area’s human residents. The insects’ homes have been destroyed, and they’re not happy about it.
Director of the NCSU Entomology Department Matt Bertone explained that yellow jackets are social insects that nest in the ground. If they don’t have a home, they’re going to be agitated and aimlessly flying around. But, with the bad news comes some good.
The storm could lead to reduced numbers of the insects after the winter. Mated queen yellow jackets generally hibernate during the fall and winter seasons, and many queens likely drowned in the flooding, meaning these hives won’t become active again in the warmer seasons of 2025, Bertone said.
Unfortunately, however, mosquito populations are likely moving in the opposite direction. Bertone said there’s a good chance for an increase in mosquitoes due to the standing water left in Helene’s wake because the water is where they breed.
Read more about Helene’s impact on insects, including how to avoid stings and bites here.
— Iris Seaton, Citizen-Times
Asheville Biltmore Village FastMed reopens; Candler Clinic set to reopen in Hendersonville
Asheville’s Biltmore Village district FastMed location, 160 Hendersonville Road, reopened Friday and will provide primary and urgent care services to residents with most insurance plans accepted, company officials announced. The clinic will be open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
“Getting our Asheville location in Biltmore Village reopened quickly has been one of our top priorities,” FastMed CEO Jim Moffett said Friday.
Candler and Hendersonville Updates
FastMed is scheduled to reopen it’s Candler clinic, 511 Smokey Park Highway, on Saturday morning. The clinic will be open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
In Hendersonville, the FastMed location at 825 Spartanburg Highway reopened earlier this week. It is open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Telehealth Available in Western North Carolina
FastMed is ready to provide telehealth services as internet service slowly returns to WNC, the company announced, noting that any North Carolina resident with an Internet connection can access urgent care services through the company’s online platform, whether or not they are near a physical FastMed location. Learn about Telehealth services and make an appointment.
Learn more about health services and where to find them here.
— Staff Reports
Buncombe Updates: Power restoration amps up, New York sends help
Buncombe County officials in a press conference Friday morning said power will soon be restored to thousands more and sites are being set up where people can access hot showers and other resources over the weekend.
Bill Norton, a spokesperson with Duke Energy, said restoring power continues to be a challenge and a priority and that the company has 21,000 line workers deployed across the state. He said he expects an additional 27,000 homes in the Buncombe region to have power restored by Friday and an additional 67,000 homes to have power restored by Sunday. Currently, there are 170,000 without power.
New York City Fire Department’s incident management team of 34 people, trained to manage large, complex emergencies, arrived Friday to help with relief efforts.
— Tyler Vazquez, USA Today Network
Henderson update: No new deaths, 800 wellness check requests with many found, officials say.
No additional storm-related deaths had been reported in Henderson County as of Friday morning, spokesperson Mike Morgan said, noting that, “Compared to other counties, we appear to be very fortunate.”
Wellness checks have been requested for 800 people there, and Morgan said many have been located, but he did not have exact figures.
“We have had county staff in their cars driving around to locations seeing if they’re there,” he explained.
Water, food and supplies will continue to be distributed at the county’s six resource hubs: Etowah Elementary School, East Henderson High, North Henderson High, Mills River Town Hall, Fletcher Town Hall and Rugby Middle School.
Recovery efforts have shifted to focus on Edneyville, Bat Cave and Gerton, with the North Carolina Department of Transportation supplying resources to clear roads and help people isolated by landslides.
The Ecusta Trail is closed because it is not safe for use due to storm debris.
— Staff Reports
Edneyville Elementary in Henderson open as emergency Helene shelter
An emergency shelter is open at Edneyville Elementary, 2875 Pace Road in Hendersonville, for Henderson County residents who have been displaced by Hurricane Helene.
The shelter has bathroom facilities, serves hot meals and can accommodate pets.
It is not equipped to care for those with medical needs who require intensive support, including patients who are oxygen dependent, need dialysis or need ventilators. The shelter is also not equipped to care for those who have mental health conditions or need help with activities of daily living (eating, toileting and bathing).
County officials say they’re actively working to find suitable locations to shelter medically intensive patients.
— Staff Reports
As recovery begins, WNC communities band together, help neighbors
As the search and rescue operations continued Friday, stories of neighbors helping neighbors and communities banding together to begin the recovery process were also emerging in WNC.
Five days after Tropical Storm Helene ravaged Western North Carolina, Anthony Vanoy sat along Buck Creek in rural McDowell County and watched as a search and rescue team combed through a towering pile of debris searching for his friend, Julie le Roux. Before the search and rescue team arrived, Vanoy and a friend spent hours searching for le Roux themselves. She’s been missing since Sept. 27. That morning, a “30-foot-tall wall of water and rocks and tree debris” barreled through a neighbor’s home, where le Roux and her fiancé John Norwood were sheltering. The couple was swept downstream. Norwood survived. He was found pinned among debris, about a four-minute walk from his home. Read more of their story, as well as the search and rescue effort here.
Residents from throughout Western North Carolina and elsewhere were showing up in full force to provide helping hands however they could this week in downtown Marshall, where businesses and residences were devastated by Tropical Storm Helene. On Oct. 2, a number of local residents had set up shop providing emergency assistance, food and water. Read more about those efforts here.
A small neighborhood on Old Clyde Road in Haywood County was bustling just a few days after Tropical Storm Helene wreaked havoc. Clyde residents along the Pigeon River were clearing debris from their flooded homes and yards. Some tried to find a few belongings to salvage, with little success. Read their stories here.
Barnardsville is a small unincorporated community in Buncombe County, with a population of about 600, near Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Moving through the community, along newly traversable roads, many of the stories of loss were echoed in the experiences of others — families who had lost everything, standing among wreckage, trying to imagine what it might look like to rebuild. Read more here.
— Jacob Biba, Johnny Casey, Lici Beveridge, Sarah Honosky, USA Today Network
FEMA aid: A step by step application process for WNC residents
Here’s FEMA’s step-by-step breakdown of how to start an application for disaster assistance and what happens after you register:
How to start your FEMA registration:
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“Call the toll-free application number 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or register online at http://www.fema.gov. These are the ONLY ways to apply for assistance.”
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“You will be asked for general information about your income, insurance, and the damage to your residence and housing needs.”
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“You will be given an application number, which will help locate your file in the system. Write this number down so you will have it secure and handy in the future.”
A Few Days Later:
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“A FEMA inspector will call you to arrange a visit to your damaged home or apartment.”
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“The FEMA inspector will come and look at disaster-related damages for FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program.”
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“You will be asked to sign a document saying that you or someone in your household was a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien at the time of the disaster. You will need to present identification.”
Later on:
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“If you qualify for FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program, you will receive a check in the mail or direct deposit to your bank and a separate letter, in the mail, explaining how you may use the assistance. You may get additional funds from other programs later.”
What can I spend FEMA money on?
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“Some disaster aid does not have to be paid back, while other types of help may come in the form of loans. The FEMA representative will explain the details to you when you call,” FEMA says.
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“You can also review your claim at the online Individual Assistance Center at www.fema.gov.”
Read the full story about everything FEMA can offer during disasters here.
— Lianna Norman, USA Today Network
1st Helene-related McDowell County death reported
The first fatality related to Tropical Storm Helene in McDowell County has been confirmed, according to an Oct. 4 news release from the county. The person’s identity is being withheld out of respect for the family, officials said.
Rescue teams in the county are continuing to search for missing people and provide aid – the county suggests the Helene Hotline at 828-652-3241 for reporting missing persons or requesting assistance. As of Friday morning, McDowell emergency personnel numbers were over 600.
The newest fatality brought the death toll in Western North Carolina to at least 109 people Friday with officials saying the number could climb even higher as search efforts continue throughout the region. In hard-hit Buncombe County, 72 deaths have been confirmed so far, according to Sheriff Quentin Miller.
— Iris Seaton, Citizen-Times
LEAF Global Arts Festival at Lake Eden canceled, disaster concert under consideration
Leaf Global Arts has canceled the 2024 LEAF Global Arts Festival, scheduled for Oct. 17-20 at Lake Eden, in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, it announced in a Friday news release.
The organization is considering a Disaster reLEAF Concert, with more details to be announced.
World Drum Day, an inaugural 24-hour global drumming celebration in partnership with Drumstrong, will take place from noon Oct. 19-noon Oct. 20. For more information about the virtual event, visit https://theleaf.org/world-drum-day/.
With the event’s cancellation, LEAF Global Arts Festival ticketholders have four options regarding purchased passes:
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Donate the ticket value to the LEAF Artist Fund. (Each gift matched by Dan Lucas Memorial Fund.)
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Transform the ticket into a LEAF Membership. (100% supports LEAF Schools & Streets/LEAF International.)
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Credit for future LEAF events. (Valid for three years or transfer to another person; all fees waived. 2025 Signature Event Dates: May 8-11 and Oct. 16-19. The credit is valid for anything LEAF.)
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Refund. (Only available for families affected in Western North Carolina and in the path of Hurricane Helene.)
For updates and to donate to the nonprofit organization’s Artist Relief Fund, visit https://theleaf.org/.
— Tiana Kennell, Citizen-Times
Officials: North Carolina death toll climbs to at least 108
The death toll in Western North Carolina had risen to at least 108 people Thursday with officials saying the number could climb even higher as search efforts continue throughout the region.
In hard-hit Buncombe County, 72 deaths had been confirmed so far, according to Sheriff Quentin Miller.
Avery County Manager Philip Barrier on Tuesday confirmed five deaths from Helene floodwaters after false information began circulating on social media, claiming 200 people had died in the county seat of Newland.
And in a report from Henderson County Thursday, Chief Communications Officer Mike Morgan confirmed there had been nine deaths as a result of Tropical Storm Helene.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reports the following deaths in the following counties:
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Yancey: Nine
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Cleveland: Two
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Watauga: Two
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Burke: One
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Catawba: One
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Gaston: One
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Macon: One
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Madison: One
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Mecklenburg: One
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Polk: One
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Rutherford: One
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Yadkin: One
— Staff Reports
Hot meals for hurricane survivors: A comprehensive guide is up now
Looking for a hot meal, water or other supplies or food boxes? There’s now a comprehensive county by county listing for all of WNC to assist in the effort. Find it here.
Buncombe County: Important updates to know
FEMA is on the ground. The nation’s top Incident Management Team is here from New York City. Electricity is slowly coming back, and resources are getting distributed with greater reach, but WNC is still in crisis and the extent of the damage is still being assessed.
Recovery briefings are broadcast at 88.1 FM and on Buncombe County’s Facebook page at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day.
For updated city information each day, click here. For updated County information, click here.
FINDING THE MISSING
During the Thursday afternoon briefing, officials estimated that more than 200 people remain missing in Buncombe County. For those missing a family member or friend, complete this form to notify Buncombe Co. officials.
Other organizations are also working on missing persons requests: The United Way is conducting welfare checks and active searches. Please use this form to connect with United Way’s reunification program. The Red Cross has helpful tips for getting in touch and, if you are looking for people who have not been found, you can use this form. People can also request wellness checks by texting “Person” to 40403. That goes to NC 211 and the texter will get a link to a form.
URGENT CARE SERVICES
Mercy Urgent Care has walk-in locations open at the following addresses from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.:
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West Asheville: 1201 Patton Ave.
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Weaverville: 61 Weaver Blvd.
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Brevard: 22 Trust Lane
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Waynesville: 120 Frazier St.
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Foothills: 140 W Mills St.
Novant Go-Health Urgent Care, 349 New Leicester Highway, is open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Please note, these facilities treat non-life-threatening conditions. For emergencies, dial 911.
TRASH AND RECYCLING
Residents can take trash to the county landfill, 85 Panther Branch Road in Alexander. Wastepro is scheduled to announce about Friday pick up Thursday. Also on Thursday, Wastepro will have three drop off locations for trash. Storm debris will not be collected. Here are the sites:
Ingles @ 2901 Hendersonville Road in Fletcher
Ingles @ 1865 1865 Hendersonville Road in Asheville
Ingles @ 225 Charlotte Highway in Asheville
DISASTER UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AVAILABLE
People in Buncombe County who are unemployed as a direct result of Hurricane Helene may be eligible for unemployment benefits. Business owners and self-employed individuals affected by the storm may also qualify for benefits.
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People have 60 days from Oct. 1 to file an application for DUA at des.nc.gov. The deadline to apply is Dec. 2, 2024. If you are not able to file through the website, you can call the DUA Hotline at 919-629-3857.
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To get DUA benefits, all required documentation must be submitted within 21 days from the day the DUA application is filed. DES will work with people who cannot provide all documentation to ensure that their unemployment benefits are not delayed.
— Staff Reports
This story was updated to add a video.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville, NC live updates: Latest on Helene recovery, death toll
