Supplies collected at Payroll Plus, one load already having left
Sept. 29. Critical supplies are starting to reach Western North Carolina communities hit hard by devastating Hurricane Helene as crews make progress toward restoring power and cell phone service and repairing roads.
Food, water and other needs are also being airlifted by the North Carolina National Guard into counties across Western North Carolina. Cellphone providers are working to fix the damage and get stopgap solutions in place and rapid progress is being made.
At least two loads, one from the Cornelius Police Station and one from Payroll Plus/Lake Norman Chamber, are already on their way.
Details
More than 500,000 customers remain without power, down from a peak of more than 1 million.
More than 500 North Carolina National Guard personnel have been deployed in response to the storm, along with more than 100 vehicles and 11 aircraft.
Twenty-four emergency shelters have opened, providing capacity for 942 residents. Shelter information can be found at readync.gov.
Eleven storm-related deaths have been confirmed in North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene and dozens of people have been reported missing. This number is the confirmed number reported by North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and is expected to rise.
The Charlotte Observer is reporting more than 30 dead in Buncombe county alone.
First responders have received hundreds of calls for rescue and more than 1,000 requests for welfare checks. State search and rescue teams have conducted hundreds of rescues and are being assisted from teams from more than a dozen other states.
Two-hundred-eighty state-maintained roads remain closed including parts of Interstate 40 and Interstate 26. NCDOT is getting food and water supply trucks, power and cellphone utility trucks, and other vehicles through damaged roads and into Western North Carolina.
National Guard deployed
Gov. Roy Cooper said NC National Guard members are working alongside local emergency responders conducting search and rescue missions, delivering needed supplies, and helping to restore infrastructure.
For a personal account of the disaster, click here.
