Avery County is still conducting water rescues for individuals caught in last week’s flooding from Tropical Storm Helene. The county has three confirmed deaths, according to Avery County Sheriff Mike Henley.
“We hope that’s all,” Henley said. “But this has been a big event, and to this magnitude, I would say that we'll have some more.”
In Newland, the flood lifted entire homes. These structures rammed other buildings, dislodging them and carrying them downstream.
Despite the unprecedented flooding, Henley said Avery County will weather the storm.
Road conditions, cell service, and power access are improving daily. Private and military helicopters have been airdropping food and supplies for people and livestock.
Neighbors are helping deliver supplies and connect generators. The county converted the fairgrounds in Newland into an emergency hub, where bilingual responders conduct wellness checks.
Firefighters have also come from across the country, like a 14-member team from Delaware who drove down on Sunday. They’re stationed at the Linville Volunteer Fire Department.
“We are by far, I think, the luckiest district,” said Levin Sudderth, assistant chief at Linville Volunteer Fire Department. “We've sent teams down south, where they've been really washed out. We've been hosting the ‘swiftwater’ teams because they don't have a place to stay.”
The Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Teams are specially trained to search for missing persons in fast-moving waters after floods. However, Helene washed away their stations.
Sudderth said that although flooding surpassed anything the county has seen in living memory, mountain people have continued to stick by mountain people.
“The blessings have outweighed the tragedy, in the sense that, for every terrible, awful story I've heard, there have been at least three to five of just outrageous heroism,” Sudderth said.
Information and support resources for western North Carolina:
- Charlotte-native Laurel Roser has compiled a living document on Google Sheets with hurricane recovery resources for western North Carolina, including Chimney Rock and Lake Lure.
- Blue Ridge Public Radio published a list of organizations supporting hurricane relief efforts in western North Carolina.
- WFAE has compiled this list of resources.
- Organizations in the Triangle are organizing drives to get resources to affected towns in the western part of the state.
