Helene aftermath: Social media pleas turn tragic as death toll climbs

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - More than 1,000 miles away from the deadly destruction brought by Hurricane Helene, Jessica Drye Turner begged on Facebook for someone to rescue her family members stranded on their rooftop in Asheville, N.C., surrounded by rising flood waters.

"They are watching 18 wheelers and cars floating by," Turner wrote in an urgent Facebook post on Friday.

But in a gut-wrenching follow-up message, Turner said help had not arrived in time to save her parents, both in their 70s, and her six-year-old nephew. The roof had collapsed and the three drowned.

Hurricane Recovery: FEMA responds to disaster in North Carolina

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper called the ongoing disaster "catastrophic," as the state manages its worst flooding in a century. Search and rescue teams from 19 states, as well as the federal government, are on the ground trying to help residents. Cell phone service is down, and the governor's office reports more than 200 people have been rescued from flood waters so far. FEMA's Acting Director of Response and Recovery, Keith Turi, joins LiveNOW from FOX with the latest operation details.

"I cannot convey in words the sorrow, heartbreak and devastation my sisters and I are going through nor imagine the pain before us," she wrote.

Turner’s sister got wedged between objects, she said, and was rescued an hour later.

"She is alone, without a means to communicate and we don’t know when we will get to her," Turner said.

Sadly, Turner’s story is not an isolated one: Social media pleas from people who couldn’t reach their loved ones have turned tragic as Helene’s devastation is revealed and the death toll climbs. The storm unleashed the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina.

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Parts of Asheville were underwater Saturday after Tropical Storm Helene unleashed the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina (Peter Berg via Storyful)

As of Sunday, at least 64 people have died across five states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

There were at least 10 deaths in Buncombe County, which includes Asheville, officials said at a news conference Sunday. Downed cell towers have hindered efforts to contact next of kin.

About 40 miles northeast of Asheville, a woman desperate on X to locate her parents received an outpouring of support from strangers around the country.

Heavy rains from Hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage on September 28, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

Katie Pate posted just before 6 a.m. on Saturday that she hadn’t heard from her parents in about 24 hours. Later, she said it had been more than 48 hours since her last contact.

She said they were in the Spruce Pine and Burnsville area of western North Carolina and asked if anyone had information regarding rescue efforts in that region, as cell service was essentially non-existent.

Helene aftermath: Extreme flooding in Asheville, NC

Asheville, North Carolina experienced heavy rainfall and flooding from Hurricane Helene. Chelsea Torres at FOX News joined LiveNOW from FOX's Josh Breslow with a look at the flooding.

Sunday morning, she shared she still hadn’t heard from them.

Dozens of people commented to say that they, too, were still waiting to hear from loved ones. Others offered hope and said that they had begun getting texts from their loved ones after hours of no communication.