At least 30 people have died and scores more remain missing in North Carolina’s Buncombe County after Hurricane Helene tore across the state, causing catastrophic flooding. As rescue operations continue, a clearer picture of the devastation emerged on Sunday, with Buncombe County, home to the mountain city of Asheville, facing the brunt of the storm’s damage.
“We have biblical devastation,” said Ryan Cole, an emergency official in the county. “This is the most significant natural disaster that any one of us has ever seen.”
Nationwide, the death toll has risen to at least 116, according to CBS, with officials fearing the number will climb as they reach more affected areas. Helene, which initially made landfall as the most powerful hurricane to ever hit Florida’s Big Bend, has left destruction in its wake across Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas.
In North and South Carolina, where the storm weakened into a tropical storm, the damage has been particularly severe. In Buncombe County alone, 30 deaths have been confirmed, and over 1,000 people remain unaccounted for. Recovery efforts are hampered by widespread power outages, downed trees, and closed roads, leaving many areas inaccessible.
As residents began returning to their homes on Sunday, some found their properties completely destroyed. The scale of the devastation has left many families desperately searching for missing loved ones amid the limited availability of mobile service.
“This storm has brought catastrophic devastation… of historic proportions,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said in a statement.
The American Red Cross has set up more than 140 shelters across the southeastern U.S. to assist evacuees, with over 2,000 people currently using the shelters as of Sunday.
