Helene aftermath latest: At least 120 dead, NC communities still isolated
Hurricane Helene left a trail of widespread damage across the U.S. Southeast, killing more than 100 people and hundreds of others still unaccounted for. Meanwhile, homes and properties were destroyed and millions were left without power.
At least 120 people across several states were killed. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said during a news conference Monday that the death toll in that state had risen from 17 to 25.
The death toll also includes 35 people in Buncombe County, North Carolina, which includes the mountain city of Asheville.
FILE - Heavy rains from hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage on Sept. 28, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
Asheville flooding: Hurricane Helene drone footage shows swallowed city streets
North Carolina officials on Monday pledged to get more water and other supplies to flood-stricken areas. Gov. Roy Cooper predicted the death toll would also rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.
Here’s what to know:
Hurricane Helene: What happened?
Helene on Thursday slammed into Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds.
A weakened Helene quickly moved through Georgia, then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains that flooded creeks and rivers and strained dams.
There have been hundreds of water rescues as a result, including in rural Unicoi County in East Tennessee – where dozens of patients and staff were rescued by helicopter from a hospital rooftop on Friday.
Biden to visit later this week
President Joe Biden spoke Monday morning about the federal government’s response to Helene’s devastation.
He said he would be traveling to the region later this week, when it was clear that his travel wouldn’t impact the delivery of much-needed water, gas, food and other emergency supplies.
"We will not do that (travel) at the risk of diverting or delaying any of the response assets needed to deal with this crisis," he said. He said he expected to travel on Wednesday or Thursday, and to be in North Carolina in particular.
When asked if Donald Trump’s presence in Georgia on Monday was going to be disruptive, Biden said he didn’t have "any idea."
Former President Donald Trump's campaign announced earlier Sunday he'll visit Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday to survey Helene’s impact on that state, one of several hotly contested battlegrounds that will be pivotal in the November presidential election.
Helene slams Asheville, other North Carolina towns
"Unimaginable and horrific disaster" in North Carolina
Epic and historic flooding has overtaken the western portion of North Carolina, downing power and cell phone access. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper declared Helene to be one of the "worst storms in modern history." The North Carolina Department of Transportation is urging people not to travel to the western area of the state, with hundreds of roads still closed. Mayor Zeb Smathers of Canton, North Carolina joins LiveNOW from FOX to provide an update.
The storm unleashed the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina, according to the Associated Press. One community, Spruce Pine, was doused with over 2 feet of rain from Tuesday through Saturday.
On Monday, supplies were being airlifted to the region around the isolated city of Asheville.
Mudslides blocking Interstate 40 and other highways prevented supplies from making it by roadway. The county’s own water supplies were on the other side of the Swannanoa River, away from where most of the 270,000 people in Buncombe County live, officials said.
Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder pledged that she would have food and water to the city by Monday.
"We hear you. We need food and we need water," Pinder said on a Sunday call with reporters, according to the Associated Press. "My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and we’ve been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close."
In Asheville, there was also no cellular service throughout the weekend and residents were directed to boil their water.
Law enforcement was making plans to send officers to places that still had water, food or gas because of reports of arguments and threats of violence, the county sheriff said.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell toured south Georgia on Sunday and planned to be in North Carolina on Monday.
Biltmore Estate after Helene
The Biltmore Estate, known for drawing thousands of visitors to Asheville, said it was assessing damage and would remain temporarily closed.
"Due to significant flooding, impassable roads, and widespread power outages in our region from Tropical Storm Helene, Biltmore is temporarily closed," a Sept. 29 statement on its website reads.
"We are assessing damage from the storm and will update this page as we work to safely reopen," it added.
Drone video showed water levels reaching the first floors of several structures within the Biltmore Village – originally constructed in the 1800s for workers of the Biltmore Estate.
RELATED: U-Haul offers free month of storage for Helene victims
New hurricane after Helene?
Tropical Depression Twelve, meanwhile, formed in the eastern Atlantic on Sunday evening and is forecast to become a major hurricane later this week, according to the National Hurricane Center.
"Gradual strengthening is forecast over the next day or so followed by a faster rate of intensification by the middle portion of this week," the NHC said Sunday.
It was too early to tell if Tropical Depression Twelve will pose a threat to the U.S., according to FOX Weather, but as of Sunday night, computer models currently keep the storm out over open waters.