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Five deaths from tropical storms in the province

VaselineSeptember 30, 2024

0 5 minutes read

Five deaths from tropical storms in the province

Hendersonville Times-News

(This article is being updated.)

Relief efforts continue in the region of Western North Carolina, where a major disaster from Tropical Storm Helene has devastated communities, left roads impassable and left thousands without power.

Check back for live updates as they roll in throughout the day on Sunday.

A news release Monday morning from Henderson County provides information on how residents can get some relief.

Beginning at noon on Monday, September 30, Henderson County will distribute water and additional supplies to those in need at six Resource Hub locations across the county.

The drive-through Resource Hubs are open Monday from noon to 6 p.m. and will distribute supplies throughout the day as they become available.

Etowah Primary SchoolEtowah Schoolweg 20, Etowah
Rugby secondary school, 3345 Haywood Road, Hendersonville
East Henderson High School150 Eagle Pride Drive, East Flat Rock
North Henderson High School35 Fruitland Road, Hendersonville
Mills River City Hall124 City Center Drive, Mills River
Fletcher Town Hall300 Old Cane Creek Road, Fletcher

Each family unit is provided with supplies for one day’s meal and water if available. Individuals are asked to enter the drive-through Resource Hubs and remain in their cars unless otherwise instructed by volunteers to ensure an efficient process.

To ensure the Resource Hubs can operate smoothly, efficiently and safely, we ask for the public’s patience as they wait for their supplies. At this time, Resource Hub operations are scheduled for today only. Details on future distribution of funds, as well as instructions for accepting donations from the general public, will be communicated by the province as information becomes available.

The catastrophic conditions in Western North Carolina in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene have led North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby to issue an order extending the statute of limitations for filing and actions in affected counties.

All pleadings, motions, notices, and other documents required to be filed between September 26 and October 14 will be deemed timely filed if filed before the close of business on October 14. The order further includes all actions required to take place between those dates in civil proceedings, criminal actions, probate and special proceedings.

Affected counties include: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey.

Rodeo Carolina, which was scheduled to take place Oct. 2-5 in Mill Spring, North Carolina, at the Tryon International Equestrian Center and Resort, has been rescheduled to Oct. 30-Nov. 30. 2, because of the storm.

Tickets for the rescheduled date will be honored. Those wanting a refund can request one here until October 14.

Asheville Regional Airport spokesperson Tina Kinsey shared several updates:

Delta plans to resume flying tomorrow morning.
United Airlines plans to resume flying tomorrow morning.
American Airlines hopes to resume arriving/terminating flights tonight (last arrivals of their schedule).

Please note: flight status may change at any time. Stay in close contact with your airline to check the status of your flight before coming to the airport.

And, do you have an upcoming loved one who needs a ride from the airport? Ground transportation providers (taxis, Ubers, Lyfts and others) are experiencing the same fuel shortage as all of us in WNC. If possible, make plans to pick up your arriving friends and family.

In a statement, Duke Energy said power is expected to be restored to the majority of customers by Friday evening. However, repair efforts are so widespread that very few areas have been assigned an estimated recovery time.

As of approximately 12:30 p.m., Duke Energy reported the following numbers in WNC counties:

Avery – 60% (805) of customers without electricity
Nonsense – 64% (95,182) of customers without electricity
Burke – 75% (17,012) of customers without electricity
Caldwell – 72% (17,423) of customers without electricity
Catawba – 24% (18,412) of customers without electricity
Cleveland – 85% (28,211) of customers without electricity. Estimated time of restoration September 29, 11:45 PM
Haywood – 35% (8,837) of customers without electricity
Henderson – 100% (69,195) customers without electricity
Jackson – 30% (8,329) of customers without electricity
Macon – 15% (4,044) of customers without electricity
Madison – 62% (404) of customers without electricity
McDowell – 93% (18,443) of customers without electricity
Mitchell – 84% (4,700) of customers without electricity
Polk – 32% (11,451) of customers without electricity
Rutherford – 90% (25,843) of customers without electricity
Transylvania – 79% (13,246) of customers without electricity
Wilkes – 32% (9,615) of customers without electricity
Yancey – 73% (472) of customers without electricity

During a media briefing Sunday, Henderson County Manager John Mitchell encouraged residents to stay home if possible to clear the roads for first responders. Avoid driving over downed power lines while traveling.

He also shared the following information:

Two emergency shelters are now open in the county: the Henderson County Athletics and Activity Center at 708 S. Grove Street and Edneyville Elementary School at 2875 Pace Road.
Limited water and supplies are available at Mills River Town Hall.
In an emergency, call 911. For any other information or non-emergency matters, please call 828-771-6670.
Henderson County Schools are closed until further notice.

Henderson County spokesman Mike Morgan confirmed there have been five deaths in the county from Tropical Storm Helene.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said during a press conference on Sunday that nearly 464,000 customers are without power due to catastrophic damage from Tropical Storm Helene. This is down from a peak of over a million, Cooper added.

The map below shows where people are without power in Western North Carolina.

The following grocery stores are open near Asheville:

Food Lion: 179 Paragon Pkwy, Clyde, NC
Trader Joe’s: 120 Merrimon Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
Ingles Markets (Cash only): 575 New Leicester Hwy, Asheville, NC
Walmart: 1636 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, NC
Publix: 165 Weaver Boulevard, Weaverville, NC

Here’s our guide to where to find grocery stores and gas across the state.

Major wireless carriers – AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon – are actively working to restore service, although none have provided a specific timeline for full restoration.

AT&T announced that from September 27 to October 27, it will waive talk, text and data overage fees for AT&T Postpaid and Prepaid customers with billing addresses in 1,415 affected zip codes. Fees for residential and business landline orders placed through October 27 will also be waived.

Verizon is waiving postpaid domestic calling/text/data usage from September 26 through October 5.

National Weather Service meteorologist Doug Outlaw told the Citizen Times that the rainfall WNC saw surpassed the previous record set in September in just three days.

Here are the precipitation amounts recorded for various WNC areas between September 25 and 27 according to NWS data:

Spruce Pine – 60.5 cmHendersonville – 21.96 cmCandle – 16.18 inGrandfather Mountain – 15.42 inAsheville – 17.31 inWoodfin – 6.17 inBat Cave – 6.88 inLake Lure – 19.24 inMills River – 12.16 inchSwannanoa – 13.21 inches

After several days of devastating flooding in WNC, flood and flash flood warnings are beginning to end. In Asheville, one flood warning for the Swannanoa River at Biltmore, affecting Buncombe County, remains active until 1 p.m. September 29.

A few scattered showers are expected today through tonight — and while precipitation amounts are expected to remain light this time — less than an inch in Asheville — the National Weather Service warned that isolated excessive runoff is possible in areas that see heavy rain and flooding received from Helene. .

At least 200 roads are closed in North Carolina as of Sunday morning, including Interstate 40 and Interstate 26 on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, according to the state’s road closure map. The closure of I-40 near the state line is said to be lengthy. I-40 is also closed at Old Fort Mountain. NCDOT estimates it will reopen there Tuesday, October 1 at noon.

You can monitor road closures at drivenc.gov. State emergency officials have warned people not to travel in or to Western North Carolina.

VaselineSeptember 30, 2024

0 5 minutes read

Vaseline

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