Lost Lives and an Epic Crisis in North Carolina (original) (raw)

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Scenes of devastation in the western part of the state, where the traces of Hurricane Helene destroyed some communities and stranded others.


In Photos and Video

Catastrophic flooding in Asheville washed away roads.Credit...By Loren Elliott For The New York Times

Lost Lives and an Epic Crisis in North Carolina

Scenes of devastation in the western part of the state, where the traces of Hurricane Helene destroyed some communities and stranded others.


In Photos and Video

Catastrophic flooding in Asheville washed away roads.Credit...By Loren Elliott For The New York Times

The remnants of Hurricane Helene unleashed catastrophic floods and mudslides in North Carolina that destroyed or decimated many communities.

With roads, power lines, cellphone towers and water treatment plants damaged throughout the region, thousands of people found themselves cut off from or with little access to food, water, electricity, gasoline or phone service.

As state and federal agencies rushed to deliver supplies, other teams fanned out to search for hundreds of people still missing.

At least 104 storm-related deaths were reported in the state as of Thursday, part of Helene’s trail of destruction that began last week on Florida’s Gulf Coast and tore through the Southeast, claiming at least 209 lives. Gov. Roy Cooper called the crisis an “unprecedented tragedy.”

The full scale of devastation in North Carolina was still emerging the following week.

Thursday, Oct. 3

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Credit...Loren Elliott for The New York Times

Vehicles destroyed in the storm were stuck in mud in Swannanoa.

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Credit...Juan Diego Reyes for The New York Times

A thick layer of mud was removed in Biltmore Village in Asheville.


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