Communication a massive struggle in flooded North Carolina towns
By Brady Dennis, Allyson Chiu and Jason Samenow
September 29, 2024 at 11:42 ET
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Sunday arrived clear and cool in the North Carolina mountains, but the bright day only illuminated the vast devastation — and the still-unknown extent of the toll from the storm that tore through here.
The French Broad River still flowed brown and fast and far beyond its banks through downtown Asheville and nearby communities. Major roads remained closed in places, and few people had managed to make it to many of the smaller, winding ones that weave along the valleys and rivers of this region.
These small towns in western North Carolina are bearing the heavy aftermath of deadly Helene, which made landfall hundreds of miles away. On Thursday, Hurricane Helene hit Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm. It then spiraled through numerous states, and within hours, its torrential downpours led to catastrophic flooding.
In the days since, cellphone and internet signals in this region have been spotty — if working at all — making communication with the outside world a constant struggle. People shared posts on Facebook looking for friends and loved ones, or asking others to check on relatives. Car lines snaked along roadsides near any open gas station, and many people came on foot with gas cans and water jugs in hand.
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