Topline
North Carolina officials are still unable to confirm how many people are missing in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, though deaths have been reported across 20 counties and at least 115 storm-related fatalities have been reported in the state, by far the highest death toll of any of the southeastern states slammed by the storm two weeks ago.
An aerial view of destroyed and damaged buildings in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene flooding in … [+]
Key Facts
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services told Fox News it is working to accumulate the number of missing person and welfare check reports received by various agencies during the storm and can’t accurately say how many people are still missing, though initial estimates from the White House in the days following the storm said it could be as many as 600 across six states.
Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said more than 200 residents were either still missing or stranded in the county alone as of last Friday, which includes those in and around the hard-hit city of Asheville.
North Carolina was the state hardest hit by Helene and entire Blue Ridge Mountain communities were “wiped off the map,” Gov. Roy Cooper said, as more than two feet of rain fell in some places.
A total of 115 storm-related deaths have been confirmed by North Carolina officials, according to the Raleigh News & Observer, and the state said Thursday it is aware of other deaths and is working to confirm they were caused by the storm.
Forty-nine people died in South Carolina as a result of the storm and CNN reported death tolls include 33 people in Georgia, 20 in Florida, 12 in Tennessee and two in Virginia.
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Big Number
1,412. That’s how many missing people have been reported to volunteer Ellie Erickson, who created a Google spreadsheet to keep track of those reported missing. Erickson, who lives in Hawaii and helped to find missing people after last year’s Maui wildfires, according to People, has collected information from those who’ve reached out to report loved ones missing and updates the sheet when someone is found. Those still listed as missing are mostly from North Carolina but the list also includes people from Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.
Tangent
While the total number of missing people hasn’t been determined, individual family members are speaking out about their still-missing loved ones in hopes of finding answers. The family of missing teacher Kim Ashby, who was swept away by swift waters in the Elk River, has said the search for her has ended in North Carolina and is now in the hands of Tennessee officials as they consider the possibility she was swept across state lines. John Norwood, who took shelter at a neighbor’s house in Marion, North Carolina, said he hasn’t seen his fiancée Julie le Roux since a roof collapse separated them the day of the storm. “It happened so fast,” Norwood, 32, told the News & Observer. “All I remember is a bunch of crashing noises, and then I was underwater, and that was it.” Fori McLean and her husband, Ron McLean, told The New York Times their son Drew has been missing since the day of the storm: “God’s hands are on Drew, if he’s still on earth,” Ron said.
Crucial Quote
“Our search and recovery has not ceased. We’ve been trying to do that 24/7,” Miller told the News & Observer Friday. “We cannot stop. We must continue to move forward.”
Surprising Fact
Bizarre social media rumors spreading in North Carolina have created “a really big obstacle for us to overcome” amid recovery efforts, Buncombe County spokeswoman Lillian Govus told media outlets on Thursday. She said misinformation—such as 2,000 people being trapped in a Candler, North Carolina, church and 1,000 unidentified dead bodies being piled up at a hospital in Asheville—”takes away time and resources from us being able to do those critical lifesaving maneuvers in our community.” Misinformation about Hurricane Helene has been a problem at a federal level, largely spread by former President Donald Trump and his allies. They falsely claimed the Federal Emergency Management Agency couldn’t respond appropriately to the storm because it diverted so much money to helping migrants. Billionaire Trump supporter Elon Musk also falsely claimed on X that FEMA was not allowing supplies to be delivered. FEMA chief Deanne Criswell said the misinformation is the “worst” she’s ever seen and President Joe Biden on Thursday told Trump to “get a life, man” and stop spreading “reckless, irresponsible and relentless disinformation and outright lies.”
Key Background
Hurricane Helene made landfall at around 11:10 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Sept. 26 near the city of Perry in Florida’s Big Bend area as a Category 4. The storm moved north into Georgia and South Carolina before continuing to dump heavy rain as it approached the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. Flooding and landslides took out thousands of roads, including the major highways I-40 and I-26 that are still closed and will need extensive repairs before they can reopen. Biden flew over the heavily impacted area of Asheville last week but he did not stop for a visit because damage to the city’s roadways have made it impossible for his motorcade to gain access. Almost 50,000 people are still without power in North Carolina, according to PowerOutage.US.
Further Reading
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