Buncombe County will begin distributing food and water for people Monday afternoon at four sites, and the distribution will continue as long as there are supplies, County Manager Avril Pinder said.
Distribution will be done by drive-through or walk-ups beginning at 2 p.m.:
- William W. Estes Elementary School, 275 Overlook Road, Asheville
- Sand Hill Elementary, 154 Sand Hill School Road, Asheville (Please enter via Acton Circle)
- North Windy Ridge Intermediate School, 20 Doan Road, Weaverville
- Fairview Elementary School, 1355 Charlotte Highway, Fairview
Over 100 deputy sheriffs from areas outside Buncombe County have arrived there to help in the devastation after Helene. At least 40 people have been killed in the county because of Helene, and officials are struggling to get food and water to people.
The sheriff said there’s been looting and confrontations over the lack of supplies.
Pinder said three tractor trailers of drinking water had arrived and the county was taking steps to get an unlimited supply of drinking water from a private company.
Pinder made her announcement during a 10 a.m. news conference Monday that was streamed on Facebook. Buncombe County officials will hold news conferences every day at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Diapers would be available at the sites, but not baby formula, Pinder said. Additionally, county leaders are trying to figure out how they can deliver food and water, she said.
An unknown number of people are unaccounted for in Buncombe County, the sheriff said.
How to get water in Asheville
In addition to the four sites, the city of Asheville Fire Department said water would be distributed to residents at Pack Square Park beginning at 1 p.m. Monday and go until dark or when supply runs out. Each person must bring their own container to 70 Court Plaza, where they will be provided one gallon of water, with a maximum of five gallons per family.
Buncombe County spokesperson Lillian M. Govus said almost every resident who is on the city’s water system is without water. (People with wells and septics have also been impacted because of power outages, she said.)
“Restoring service to this system could potentially take weeks,” said Assistant City Manager Ben Woody said Monday afternoon. “As repairs progress, as we make progress, we will begin to see service return, but that’s going to happen slowly, and it’s going to happen in some areas before others.”
A deputy sheriff assisting with storm response died, Miller said.
“Devastation does not even begin to describe how we feel,” he said.
The Associated Press reported that at least 107 people have died across six states impacted by Hurricane Helene.
According to Duke Energy, nearly 88,000 customers were still without power in Buncombe County on Monday.
Some homes and roads in the region were completely wiped out by the storm, and the Lake Lure Dam came close to collapsing . North Carolina Emergency Management instructed people to not attempt to travel to western North Carolina.
“It is truly the worst storm we have faced, and not just us, but our friends across the mountains,” said Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers . “The word I keep coming back to ... is apocalyptic.”
Officials warn against misinformation
The Bumcombe sheriff asked people not to spread misinformation because it delays needed assistance.
Pinder said some people showed up at the Swannanoa Fire Department to say an engineer told them a dam was getting ready to breach Sunday night. The county evacuated hundreds of people, only to learn it was a hoax.
“We had to take time away from searching and rescuing people to go out and investigate if that was true,” Pinder said. “The dam is not in imminent failure, there was nothing to that report, other than being malicious.”
During the livestreamed press conference Monday, people posted comments on Facebook to ask about friends and family they haven’t been able to get in touch with. They said places that are open only accept cash, but not many people have cash on hand, and they asked how much water they would be able to get. Others asked about how to donate supplies.
Pinder said a provisional agreement had been made between Asheville and Verizon to install a temporary satellite for cell phone service in the parking lot of 35 Woodfin Street. It will provide cell phone reception for several blocks, Pinder said.
How to volunteer in Buncombe
Drew Reisinger, register of deeds, said the county has organized door knocking efforts to check on people. People can submit a request on a Google Form about loved ones they haven’t been able to contact.
People can volunteer to help if interested, he said. The county has received over 11,000 wellness check requests so far.
He also asked that people email the register’s office to let them know if they have made contact with friends or family so they can help speed up wellness checks.
Pinder said that because shelters are getting busy, the county is working on opening a third. Shelters provide overnight lodging, and food and water. The state website ReadyNC.gov lists all shelters open in western North Carolina .
Efforts are also being made to get non-potable water to the county, as well as port-o-johns, Pinder said.
Additionally, county officials announced:
Signs will be printed to let residents know about the distribution sites.
The daily press conferences will be translated in Spanish, and the county is working with community partners to reach Spanish-speaking residents.
Interstate 26 is now fully open.
Hospitals, nursing facilities, and the detention center all have power from generators and the county is supplying diesel to keep them running.
Shelters also have consistent power from generators and backup generators.
Donations can be made at helenedonations@buncombecounty.org
People can reach out about volunteering by emailing helenevolunteers@buncombecounty.org
To let the register’s office know if contact has been made with loved ones, email register@buncombecounty.org
Residents salvage food and water
“Is that a lamp? Oh, there’s two of them! We’ll have light tonight!”
It was a brief personal victory for Amanda Son as she searched for supplies at a trashed produce store in Swannanoa on Sunday. She said she would bring food, clothes, blankets and shoes to Buncombe Community High School to give away.
People were scrounging together what they could with plans to distribute it.
“With it being an emergency — and this place is destroyed — we’re trying to salvage what we can,” she said.
She said she had money but there was no one to pay. And some shop owners had unlocked their doors, opening them up to the public to take what they could, she said.
Other county residents discovered a tractor-trailer at the edge of Swannanoa filled with hundreds of cases of water.
Soon, a massive, impromptu line of cars formed. Volunteers carried cases to people’s cars.
Members of Black Mountain Presbyterian Church were among those collecting the cases, with plans to give them to the community. “Thank you. More than you know,” one woman said as a volunteer handed her cases to bring home.
Police officers later showed up and made people disperse, The Washington Post reported . “You are stealing!” an officer yelled at them.
New grafs:
40 storm-related fatalities confirmed
Babies being born, post-storm
HCA Healthcare’s Mission Hospital in Asheville treated more than 700 patients on Monday, said Greg Lowe, the hospital president. Thirty babies have been delivered since Helene hit, he said.
Observer staff writer Ryan Oehrli contributed to this story.
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