Desperate residents isolated by washed out roads and the lack of power and cellular service in western North Carolina lined up for fresh water Monday, days after Hurricane Helene ripped through the Southeastern U.S. and killed more than 100 people.
Government officials and aid groups were working to bring basic supplies by airlift and truck to the hard-hit tourism hub of Asheville and surrounding mountain towns.
At least 120 people in six states were killed as the death toll climbed Monday and a clearer picture emerged of the devastation stretching from Florida’s Gulf Coast to the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia. The North Carolina county that includes Asheville reported at least 35 people killed. Georgia’s death count was raised Monday from 17 to 25.
North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper, predicted the toll would rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.
Asheville’s water system was severely damaged, forcing residents to carry buckets to a creek to get water to flush toilets. They carefully watched their steps where a wall of water had ripped away all of the trees and ground, leaving only mud.
