Locals battered by Hurricane Helene have reported seeing "bodies in the trees" after the massive flooding in the Asheville area of western North Carolina.
Hurricane Helene caused unprecedented damage in the past week, claiming the lives of at least 133 people across several states, as reported by The New York Post.
The catastrophic storm crashed into Florida‘s Big Bend on Thursday (September 26) as a Category 4 hurricane, before traveling northwards through the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Virginia.
“It’s not just a catastrophic storm. It’s a historic, history-making storm,” President Joe Biden said, cited by The Guardian. He added that “damage from the hurricane stretches across at least 10 states," and that his administration is giving states “everything we have” to help.
President Biden has added that 600 people remain unaccounted for at this time, as many areas have been left with means of communication.
“The devastation was beyond belief," North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said at a news conference. "And even when you prepare for something like this, this is something that’s never happened before in western North Carolina.”
A resident named Alyssa Hudson - who lives in Black Mountain, a town of 8,400 people about 12 miles from Asheville - had to evacuate from her neighborhood after the hurricane destroyed the area.
“There were bodies in trees. They were finding bodies under rubble,” Hudson shockingly revealed, cited by The New York Post.
She also opened up about seeing videos of strangers near her residence, which was submerged to the roof. “We started seeing videos of our house posted to Facebook. Our floors are caved in, our walls are gone. We had a shed in our backyard that they found two miles away," she said.
It's been reported by the Washington Post that since Helene, Mission Hospital in Asheville has gotten 900 emergency room visits and delivered more than 30 babies, per Greg Lowe, president of HCA Healthcare’s North Carolina division.
The hospital is now a shelter to more than 700 patients and 1,200 staff members who have been sleeping there since the storm, Lowe added.
Asheville, a city in Buncombe County that has seen widespread destruction, is in need of basic supplies such as food and water.
Officials revealed that the storm decimated three of the city’s water treatment plants and washed away the main pipes that carry water into the town and its surrounding areas.
Ben Woody, Asheville’s assistant city manager, said: "The damage to Asheville’s water system is catastrophic,” and noted that it could be a while before it is fixed as the damaged equipment is flooded, covered in debris, or only accessible by roads that are closed.
Buncombe County officials have also shared that they received their first shipment of water for residents from three tanker trucks. “We’ve been asking for water and we’re just getting water and it’s still in low quantities," Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder said.
"There’s a large need in our community and we would like to see… a better response from our state partners,” he continued. “This is extremely frustrating.”
Washington Post reported that at least 29 people have died in South Carolina, 25 in Georgia, 11 in Florida, two in Tennessee, and two in Virginia. Roughly 1.8 million people don’t have power in these states, per Poweroutage.us.
Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy.
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