On Saturday, Asheville and other parts of western North Carolina were cut off from the world. No roads opened into or out of the region’s most populous city, and electricity and cell towers were limited or inoperable.
More than five dozen people died in the South from Hurricane Helene, and the Buncombe County numbers—where Asheville is the county seat—were not included due to trouble reaching next of kin, said the Emergency Services director.
Nearby Spruce Pine collected 24 inches of rain between Tuesday and Saturday, dwarfing the 11-plus in metro Atlanta in a 48-hour period that eclipsed records dating to 1878.
Helene, a Category 4 hurricane when she hit the Big Bend of Florida on Thursday night, is forecast to leave behind between $95 billion and $110 billion in damage and economic loss. Moody’s forecasts property damage alone to run $15 billion to $26 billion.
President Joe Biden on Saturday granted emergency aid to North Carolina through a declaration.
“To say this caught us off guard would be an understatement,” Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said.
The loss of Interstate 40 between Asheville and Knoxville, Tenn, will impact commerce and tourism for some time. Two eastbound lanes fell into the Pigeon River about four miles into North Carolina.
