30 dead in one county after hurricane hits North Carolina

At least 30 people have died and scores more are missing in just one North Carolina county after Hurricane Helene ripped through the state, causing catastrophic flooding.

As Sunday progressed, a clearer picture emerged of the damage caused by the storm after it swept across Florida and Georgia, with Buncombe County appearing to be the hardest-hit area.

“We have biblical devastation,” said Ryan Cole, an emergency official in the county that includes the mountain town of Asheville. “This is the worst natural disaster any of us have ever seen.”

According to the BBC's US partner CBS, at least 105 people have died across the country since the hurricane hit Florida on Thursday. That number is expected to increase as officials reach more areas.

Helene began as a hurricane — the strongest on record to hit Florida's Big Bend — and moved north into Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee. Most deaths were confirmed in North and South Carolina, where Helene made landfall as a tropical storm.

As of Sunday evening, officials in North Carolina said 30 people had died in Buncombe County alone. Emergency crews across the state are battling power and cell phone outages, fallen trees and hundreds of roads closed.

Some residents returned on Sunday to find their homes completely destroyed. And with about 1,000 people still missing in Buncombe County, relatives are working to locate family members with limited cell service.

“This storm has caused catastrophic devastation of historic proportions,” said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.

The American Red Cross has opened more than 140 shelters in southeastern states for those who have evacuated their homes. More than 2,000 people are currently using the emergency shelters, the organization announced on Sunday.

Erin Quevedo, the owner of a flooded salon in Buncombe County, spoke The Asheville Citizen Times ankle-deep in mud.

“The salon was completely destroyed. It looks like the water was up to about 5 feet inside,” she said. “Right now we’re just trying to save what we can.”

Rescue operations are underway in North Carolina and supplies, including food and water, are being delivered by air to affected areas that cannot be reached due to closed roads.

“People are desperate for help and we are pushing to get it – (it’s) a monumental effort,” said Gov. Cooper.

The North Carolina National Guard rescued more than 119 people – including an infant, according to Maj. Gen. Todd Hunt. He said the largest rescue saw 41 people rescued north of Asheville.

Across North Carolina, many gas stations are closed and there are long lines at those that are still open. Meanwhile, the few supermarkets that are open are crowded with customers trying to buy bottled water.

Damage caused by the storm is estimated at $95 billion to $110 billion (£71 billion to £82 billion) nationwide. The extent of the destruction will become clearer in the coming days.

The search for survivors continues and federal emergencies were declared in six cases States including Florida and Georgia.

“The devastation we are experiencing in the wake of Hurricane Helene has been overwhelming,” President Joe Biden said Saturday.

He was briefed by Deanne Criswell, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), who he directed to expedite assistance to storm survivors, including sending additional teams to North Carolina.

Some of the areas hardest hit by the storm are in states expected to be crucial in November's presidential election, namely Georgia and North Carolina.

The White House has announced that Vice President Kamala Harris will visit affected areas as soon as possible without affecting rescue operations.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump's campaign team announced that he would visit the city of Valdosta, Georgia on Monday.

Although Helene has weakened significantly, meteorologists warn that strong winds, flooding and the threat of tornadoes could continue.

There could be up to 25 named storms in 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned earlier this year.

Between eight and 13 of these storms could develop into hurricanes, and a handful of them, including Helene, have already done so. Officials warned that more storms could be on the horizon, with the official end of hurricane season not until November 30.