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The scenes from the western part of our state are heartbreaking. It’s hard to imagine an area so beautiful with its majestic mountains and lush valleys transformed into wet, muddy mess…homes and vehicles submerged and residents without food or water.

Scenic highways, which in just a few weeks from now would have been packed with sightseers witnessing an explosion of brilliant colors as autumn’s arrival signals the fall foliage season, are closed due to gaping holes, mudslides, or both.

Quaint little villages that dot the rolling landscape, to include Chimney Rock, have been washed away. Lansing, a tiny town (population 125) in Ashe County is buried under several feet of mud. Lake Lure is clogged with debris.

As of Sunday morning, NC DOT says 390 roads, including areas along Interstate 40 and dozens of highways in the foothills and mountains, remain closed due to flooding, downed trees, landslides or catastrophic damage.

That damage has also severely impacted communication, to include cell service. I read Facebook posts throughout this past weekend of folks I know and some I’ve never met who shared stories of being unable to get in touch with their loved ones who live in western North Carolina. Folks living there are isolated and without electrical power. Students enrolled in universities and colleges there are stuck in their dorms or off-campus apartments. They have nowhere to go and no one can get to them….the worst nightmare of any parent.

After making landfall on Sept. 26 near Perry, Florida (on the northern Gulf Coast) with winds of 140 mph, Hurricane Helene raced inland, causing major damage in the Sunshine State before setting her sights on Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Earlier last week, a low pressure system had stalled over the western part of our state, dumping several inches of rain.

With the ground still saturated, Helene comes along and adds even more rain. I saw several reports of 20-plus inches; there was one town that reportedly received 30 inches.

Helene’s relentless rain was reminiscent of flooding here locally from past tropical systems…to include Hurricane Floyd (1999), Tropical Storm Allison (2001) Hurricane Irene (2011), Tropical Storm Julia and Hurricane Matthew (which came just 13 days apart in 2016), and Hurricane Florence.

The official rain gauge in Asheville stopped collecting at one point on last Friday morning. Even with that, the 12.17 inches of rain recorded over a three-day period was the largest 72-hour total on record in the city with data having been kept since 1879.

HighSchool/OT reported that Pisgah High School’s football stadium and other athletic facilities, such as the softball field, suffered significant flooding. The flood waters in the football stadium got as high as five rows from the top of the visitors bleachers, according to one witness. Pisgah’s stadium, located in Canton, sits just yards from the Pigeon River.

In 2021, Tropical Storm Fred caused flooding along the Pigeon River, which destroyed the Pisgah stadium. It took more than two years for the stadium to be repaired, finally reopening in 2023. Pisgah did not play a home game during that period.

Governor Roy Cooper on Sunday said more than 1,600 NC DOT employees and contract crews are working with utilities to clear roads of debris, repair others where possible, and determine how to repair or replace roads more seriously damaged or destroyed. NC DOT crews from lesser impacted parts of the North Carolina have been deploying to the western part of the state since Friday and that continued through the weekend. Those include crews who will be bringing in fuel, backhoes and front-end loaders to remove debris from mudslides, and chainsaw teams to cut and shove downed trees from roads.

As of 8 am Monday, a confirmed 35 North Carolinians have lost their lives due to Helene. (NOTE: Loss of life due to the storm was listed at 89 as of Thursday, Oct. 3). Swiftwater and helicopter rescue crews have saved more than 200 people since Thursday.

Supplying drinkable water is a top priority in that region. Seven water plants in Avery, Burke, Haywood, Jackson, Rutherford, Watauga and Yancey counties are closed, impacting nearly 70,000 households. A total of 17 water plants have reported having no power, and an additional 23 are operating on backup power. There are 50 boil water advisories in effect across western communities.

The Governor has also deployed the NC National Guard with 410 troops and 146 vehicles including high water vehicles to help with rescues, transport patients to medical care and deliver personnel and equipment to help with storm response.

Closer to home in Rocky Mount, there were 15 people injured after a confirmed tornado Friday afternoon, according to Nash County Emergency Management.

There were 14 buildings damaged from the tornado, including several businesses clustered in a small shopping center across from Golden Leaf Mall off Wesleyan Boulevard (US 301 Bypass). Vehicles, to include large trucks, were tossed around like toys.

The National Weather Service said an EF3 tornado touched down around 1:31 p.m. Friday with estimated peak winds of 140 mph.

Governor Cooper is encouraging donations to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund to help communities recover from catastrophic damage caused by Helene.

To donate, visit nc.gov/donate. Donations can also be mailed to: NC Disaster Relief Fund, 20312 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-0312 or NC Disaster Relief Fund, c/o United Way of NC, 1130 Kildaire Farm Road, Suite 100, Cary NC 27511.

Donations made to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund will go to nonprofits working to meet the immediate needs of storm victims such as food and water, cleaning supplies and other emergency supplies. All of the donations made will go to disaster relief.

United Way of North Carolina is the fiscal agent for the Fund and will provide grants and reimbursement to nonprofits working in impacted communities.

If sufficient donations are collected to support long term recovery work, the North Carolina Community Foundation’s affiliate foundations and statewide grants committee will work to ensure that all remaining donations are distributed to nonprofits that can best serve unmet needs in affected communities.

Donations to the NC Disaster Relief Fund are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

If you can’t afford a donation, please consider whispering a prayer for our ‘Carolina family” in the mountians.

 

Cal Bryant is the Editor of Roanoke-Chowan Publications. Contact him at cal.bryant@r-cnews.com or 252-332-7207.