Emergency personnel continue recovery efforts as Watauga sees catastrophic damage

WATAUGA — Emergency services personnel are confirming the catastrophic damage in Watauga County as recovery efforts remain underway.

“Immediate swift water rescues have tapered off,” Watauga County Emergency Services Director Holt said. “We are operating to get roads open and get access to folks that have been cut off.”

On the second day since the remnants of Hurricane Helene decimated the area, Holt said they are validating how bad the destruction is.

“We are validating the information we have received of catastrophic damage,” Holt said.

WCES will start working on damage assessments on Sunday, but their main concern is life safety and reaching isolated parts of the community.

“There are a lot of people that are isolated,” Holt said.

Holt said they are creating lists of missions to prioritize for air assets when available.

“The National Guard is committed all over Western North Carolina,” Holt said. “They are focusing right now on pulling people out of places that are still in flood waters. We do have missions, and we are working to get communications to people in isolated areas.”

WCES is also working with commercial telecom providers to determine what they need to get their infrastructure back online.

“We are talking by radio to fire departments and are relaying a lot of information back to us, but they are having trouble getting to places as well,” Holt said.

Holt said requests have been made across the region to get water and other supplies, which are on the way. It is just slow because of road conditions all across the region. Multiple tractor-trailer loads of water are on the way.

WCES will push out information on distribution sites throughout the county as soon as possible.

“We are working 24-hour operations,” Holt said. “Just know we are coming. We know that it’s taking time to get there. The meteorology community has said this is western North Carolina’s Hugo or Katrina. That’s the level of destruction we have. We are getting resources there as fast as we can."

The National Guard has two large trucks in Watauga County to transport water to areas that only those types of vehicles can reach. Two more trucks are on the way.

“The biggest limitation right now is getting the stuff up here,” Holt said.

Individuals who want to donate their time to help in the recovery should get on the roster with an organization like Samaritan’s Purse or other organizations that are helping that way they have accountability.

Baptist on Mission and Samaritan's Purse will open recovery centers where people can sign up for a list and have crews come help them get access, clean up their area, and start removing debris.

Appalachian Medical Reserve Corps has launched a Non-Emergency Information Call Center, which can be reached at (828) 263-4178. This initiative aims to divert all non-emergency calls from the 911 system, ensuring that life-threatening emergencies receive prompt attention.

The Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation is accepting donations to help with community and business relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s impact on the High Country. Gifts can be made at this link, and the Chamber will distribute funds locally to businesses and community efforts as needs are further assessed throughout Watauga County over the days and weeks ahead: www.boonechamber.com/foundation.