Helene was most destructive in Asheville, North Carolina and surrounding Buncombe County, where at least 40 people have been killed amid destroyed properties and washed out roads.
“This is the biggest test we’ve ever faced,” Mayor Esther Manheimer said last night on NBC News “Stay Tuned NOW.”
Among the city’s challenges, she said, were “catastrophic failures of our transportation system” due to washed out roads, a city water system that was seriously damaged, and a need for basic supplies — diapers, baby formula, cleaning supplies, food, and water — that must squeeze through the city’s one available roadway.
“We have catastrophic failures of our transportation system throughout the city,” Manheimer said. “We were cut off from the world.”
She acknowledged pledges of immediate and long-term help from the federal and state governments.
Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement last night that 1 million bottles of water and 600,000 meals have been distributed in the aftermath of Helene by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In a televised briefing, President Joe Biden acknowledged the devastation in western North Carolina and said 30 Starlink satellite receivers that facilitate cellphone service have been sent there, with another 10 en route.
Manheimer said when she spoke to the president today he said he would ask Congress to approve funding for rebuilding parts of the city taken out by the storm, its floodwaters, and its winds.
At the same time, she still seemed to be processing Helene’s impacts, indicating that the people of Asheville were taking it one step at a time.
“The rivers reached heights that have never on record been reached before” the mayor said. “We have … total catastrophic loss here. You have no power, no water, and you just need to make sure that people can get by each day.”
