President Joe Biden is scheduled to survey the damage from Hurricane Helene by air on Wednesday, as the region grapples with the ongoing challenges of rebuilding. The hurricane has left a trail of destruction across the Southeast, compounding the difficulties for residents trying to restore their lives and homes.
In response to the extensive damage, President Biden has authorized the deployment of up to 1,000 active-duty U.S. soldiers. These forces will join the North Carolina National Guard in aiding the recovery efforts in the state, which has been particularly hard-hit by the storm.
North Carolina Suffers Severe Losses
The death toll attributed to Hurricane Helene has reached at least 162 across the Southeast, with numbers expected to climb. Buncombe County alone reports 57 fatalities. Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina was on-site Tuesday, assessing the damage and engaging with the community. During his visits, he remarked, “The people of western North Carolina are inspiring in the toughest of times. We’re going to have their back.”
Persistent Challenges: Water and Power Outages
The infrastructure damage has left many areas without essential services. Local water authorities have indicated that it may take weeks to restore potable water in some locations. Duke Energy is making concerted efforts to restore electricity, having reconnected over 1.6 million customers in the Carolinas. Nevertheless, nearly 900,000 homes and businesses are still without power in these states, with an additional 450,000 in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and West Virginia enduring blackouts.
Hurricane Helene made landfall along Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 hurricane, bringing with it catastrophic winds and heavy rainfall. The resulting floods have caused extensive damage to roads, homes, and businesses, and have tragically swept away lives.
Infrastructure Woes
As floodwaters recede, the extent of the infrastructural damage is becoming evident. Duke Energy’s spokesman, Bill Norton, highlighted the severity of the situation on social media: “We are starting to see some of this damage. We had entire substations that were under water.”
The recovery process is underway, with both state and federal resources being mobilized to assist in the Herculean task of rebuilding and restoring normalcy to the battered regions.
