10 dead in NC from Helene; 400+ NC National Guard troops deployed to mountains

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN/AP) — North Carolina officials said Saturday night that 10 people in the state had died from Hurricane Helene, which dumped more than 2 feet of rain Friday in some parts of the mountains — flooding rivers, washing away communities and breaking apart highways and roads.

Western North Carolina was isolated Saturday because of landslides and flooding that cut internet, cell service and forced the closure of Interstate 40 and more than 400 other roads.

Gov. Roy Cooper has deployed the N.C. National Guard with 410 troops and 146 vehicles including high water vehicles to help with rescues, transport patients to medical care and deliver crews and equipment to help with storm response.

Dramatic rescues from Friday continued into the following day in Buncombe County, North Carolina, where part of Asheville was underwater. So far, North Carolina swiftwater and helicopter rescue crews have rescued more than 200 people since Thursday.

“To say this caught us off guard would be an understatement,” said Quentin Miller, Buncombe County Sheriff.

Asheville resident Mario Moraga said it’s “heartbreaking” to see the damage in the Biltmore Village neighborhood and neighbors have been going house to house to check on each other and offer support.

“There’s no cell service here. There’s no electricity,” he said.

While there have been deaths in the county, Emergency Services Director Van Taylor Jones said he wasn’t ready to report specifics, partially because downed cell towers hindered efforts to contact next of kin.

Relatives put out desperate pleas for help on Facebook. Among those waiting for news was Francine Cavanaugh, whose sister told her she was going to check on guests at a vacation cabin as the storm began hitting Asheville. Cavanaugh, who lives in Atlanta, hasn’t been able to reach her since then.

“I think that people are just completely stuck,” she said.

The storm, now a post-tropical cyclone, was expected to hover over the Tennessee Valley on Saturday and Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said.

It unleashed the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina, where Gov. Roy Cooper described it as “catastrophic” as search and rescue teams from 19 states and the federal government came to help. One community, Spruce Pine, was doused with over 2 feet of rain from Tuesday through Saturday.

Evacuations began before the storm hit and continued as lakes overtopped dams, including one in North Carolina that forms a lake featured in the movie “Dirty Dancing.” Helicopters were used to rescue some people from flooded homes.

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