Buncombe County death toll rises to 40 from Helene

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – The death toll from Tropical Storm Helene’s impacts on one Western Carolina county has risen.

Buncombe County officials during an update Monday afternoon said that 40 people have lost their lives. Authorities have yet to say how many people they believe are still missing.

Sheriff Quentin Miller says that there has been looting in the county as people try to find supplies. He says the looting has not been widespread. They will be getting deputies from other counties throughout the state and will soon have a force of about 100.

Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder says that they would like to see a better response from the state and federal government.

“The message that we will say is we’ve been asking for water and it’s still in low quantities. There’s a large need in our community and we would like to see a different response from our state partners, a better response from our state partners,” Pinder says.

Officials say food and water was requested from FEMA ahead of Helene’s impacts and that the first water shipments arrived at 2:30 this morning.

Asheville says damage to its water system is catastrophic. The city says 24 and 36-inch water mains at its main plant were washed out, along with backup lines. A second plant is operating, the city says, and repairs could take weeks.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation says there are more than 300 roads still closed in the western part of the state. The most significant is a four-mile stretch of eastbound Interstate 40 that was washed away near the Tennessee state line.

The state says there are more than 450,000 homes and businesses without power, down from a peak of more than one million.

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