PHOTOS AVAILABLE: Governor Cooper, FEMA Administrator Criswell, Federal Highway Administration Officials Travel to Yancey and Mitchell Counties to Survey Damage, Thank First Responders

NORTH CAROLINA, October 8 - Today, Governor Roy Cooper traveled to Burnsville in Yancey County and Spruce Pine in Mitchell County and was joined by FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, Federal Highway Administration Acting Administrator Kristin White and other state and federal officials to assess storm damage, thank volunteers and speak with people impacted by Hurricane Helene. The Governor visited the Burnsville and Spruce Pine fire departments and toured the Sibelco Quartz Mine in Spruce Pine, a facility that is integral to the global production of solar panels and semiconductor chips and a major employer in Mitchell County. The facility has been temporarily shut down due to impacts from Helene.

“Today I visited Burnsville and Spruce Pine where more heroic work is being done by volunteers and first responders to save lives and get relief to people who need it,” said Governor Cooper. “We’ll continue our around-the-clock work to surge resources and aid into Western North Carolina, helping communities recover and working to re-open facilities like the Sibelco Quartz Mine that are critical for both local and global economies.”

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is working to quickly get food, water and baby formula to impacted areas in Western North Carolina. DHHS has distributed over 30,000 gallons of water to Mitchell County and nearly 25,000 gallons to Yancey County. In addition, over 95,000 meals ready to eat (MREs) have been distributed to Mitchell County and over 55,000 to Yancey County. Eight pallets of formula via the National Guard have been distributed to 34 feeding sites across Western North Carolina.

Photos from the Governor’s visit to Yancey and Mitchell counties can be found here.

North Carolina National Guard and Military Response

More than 3,000 Soldiers and Airmen are now working in Western North Carolina. Joint Task Force- North Carolina, the task force led by the North Carolina National Guard is made up of Soldiers and Airmen from 12 different states, two different XVIII Airborne Corps units from Ft. Liberty, a unit from Ft. Campbell’s 101^st Airborne Division, and numerous civilian entities are working side-by-side to get the much-needed help to the citizens in western North Carolina.

National Guard and military personnel are operating more than 40 helicopters and more than 1,200 specialized vehicles in Western North Carolina to facilitate these missions. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is helping to assess water and wastewater plants and dams. Residents can track the status of the public water supply in their area through a website launched on Saturday.

FEMA Assistance

More than $37 million in FEMA Individual Assistance funds have been paid so far to Western NC disaster survivors and more than 123,000 people have registered for Individual Assistance. Approximately 2,600 people are now housed in hotels through FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance. Federal partners have delivered approximately 9.78 million liters of water and approximately 7.7 million meals in North Carolina to support both responders and people living in the affected communities.

More than 900 FEMA staff are in the state to help with the western North Carolina relief effort. In addition to search and rescue and providing commodities, they are meeting with disaster survivors in shelters and neighborhoods to provide rapid access to relief resources. They can be identified by their FEMA logo apparel and federal government identification.

The Major Disaster Declaration requested by Governor Cooper and granted by President Biden now includes 27 North Carolina counties (Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey) and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

North Carolinians can apply for Individual Assistance by calling 1-800-621-3362 from 7am to 11pm daily or by visiting www.disasterassistance.gov, or by downloading the FEMA app. FEMA may be able to help with serious needs, displacement, temporary lodging, basic home repair costs, personal property loss or other disaster-caused needs.

Help from Other States

More than 1,300 responders from 35 state and local agencies have performed 118 missions supporting the response and recovery efforts through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). This includes public health nurses, emergency management teams supporting local governments, veterinarians, teams with search dogs and more.

Beware of Misinformation

North Carolina Emergency Management and local officials are cautioning the public about false Helene reports and misinformation being shared on social media. NCEM has launched a fact versus rumor response webpage to provide factual information in the wake of this storm. FEMA also has a rumor response webpage.

Food, Water and Commodity Points of Distribution

Efforts continue to provide food, water and basic necessities to residents in affected communities, using both ground resources and air drops from the NC National Guard. More than 20,000 hot meals a day are being prepared and served by mobile kitchens. Food, water and commodity points of distribution are open throughout western North Carolina. For information on these sites in your community, visit your local emergency management and local government social media and websites or visit ncdps.gov/Helene.

Missing Persons

To report a missing person or request non-emergency support, please call NC 211 or 1-888-892-1162 if calling from out-of-state. NC 211 also has a registry page for missing persons and welfare check requests.

Shelters

A total of 17 shelters are open in Western North Carolina serving 737 people and 106 pets.

Storm Damage Cleanup

If your home has damages and you need assistance with clean up, please call Crisis Cleanup for access to volunteer organizations that can assist you at 844-965-1386.

Power Outages

Across Western North Carolina, more than 107,000 customers remain without power as of Tuesday, down from a peak of more than 1 million. Overall power outage numbers will fluctuate up and down as power crews temporarily take circuits or substations offline to make repairs and restore additional customers.

Road Closures

Travel remains dangerous, with hundreds of roads closed. Many of these roads are primary routes connecting the region. As connectivity and reporting measures improve, these number may increase.

NCDOT is asking people to avoid unnecessary travel to or in Western North Carolina. NCDOT has posted at ncdot.gov an interstate detour map for travelers to avoid western N.C. NCDOT currently has more than 2,050 employees and 1,100 pieces of equipment working on approximately 4,700 damaged road sites.

Fatalities

Eighty-nine storm-related deaths have been confirmed in North Carolina by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner. We expect that this number will continue to rise over the coming days. The North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will continue to confirm numbers twice daily. If you have an emergency or believe that someone is in danger, please call 911. To report that you have been unable to reach a person in Western North Carolina, please call 211.

Volunteers and Donations

Due to dangerous road conditions and the need to maintain open routes for emergency operations, travel to Western North Carolina is strongly discouraged. Instead, consider the following options for donations and volunteer opportunities:

• If you would like to donate to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund, visit nc.gov/donate. Donations will help to support local nonprofits working on the ground.
• For information on volunteer opportunities, please visit nc.gov/volunteernc

Additional Assistance

There is no right or wrong way to feel in response to the trauma of a hurricane. If you have been impacted by the storm and need someone to talk to, call or text the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990. Help is also available to anyone, anytime in English or Spanish through a call, text or chat to 988. Learn more at 988Lifeline.org.

If you are seeking a representative from the North Carolina Joint Information Center, please email ncempio@ncdps.gov or call 919-825-2599.

For general information, access to resources, or answers to frequently asked questions, please visit ncdps.gov/helene.

If you are seeking information on resources for recovery help for a resident impacted from the storm, please email IArecovery@ncdps.gov.

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