When will the power return? After Helen's fury, the Carolinas longed for relief
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) – Tired and worn-out residents of Julian Johnson's neighborhood in Asheville have been going without power ever since. Hurricane Helen Last week tore through the Southeast and uprooted their lives. They were cooking on propane stoves and using dry erase boards to capture local events while wondering when the lights would come back on.
Johnson, who has a 5-year-old son and works for a land conservation group, received a text from Duke Energy promising that his power would be restored by Friday night. But as of noon, utility poles and wires were still strung at odd angles across the road, pulled down by downed trees.
“I have no idea what's next,” said Johnson, whose family has some power thanks to a generator. “The breadth of it across the whole region, it's kind of amazing.”
He and his neighbors were taking care of each other when Helen came ashore in Florida on September 26 Category 4 hurricane and carving a path of destruction as it moves northward, More than 220 people were killed In six states, at least 72 are in Buncombe County, which includes Asheville. Block captains set up whiteboards with information about who can administer first aid and where to repair equipment.
The search for Hurricane Helen's victims continues. AP correspondent Jennifer King reports.
About 700,000 homes and businesses in six states — mostly in the Carolinas and Georgia — remained without power Friday, according to poweroutage.us. That's an improvement from five days earlier when more than 2 million customers were without power, and North Carolina's dominant power supplier, Duke Energy, said it expected to restore power to many of its affected customers by Sunday night. But for roughly 100,000 customers living in catastrophic damage areas, it could be the next week or more, company spokesman Bill Norton said.
“We're talking about places where the houses are no longer there,” Norton said, noting that some streets where utility poles once stood have been completely washed away.
The power company said it will miss Friday's goal of restoring power to nearly all of its customers in South Carolina and is now shooting for Sunday.
Dominion Energy also said Friday that it will take longer than initially expected to restore power to South Carolina's worst-hit counties.
Dream of a hot shower
the storm Damaged water utility So severely and across such a wide area that one federal official said it “could be considered unprecedented.” Repairs may take several weeks.
Dominic Gucciardo walks in his home after Hurricane Helen, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
The lack of clean running water only added to Asheville's woes.
“I'd love a shower,” said Sue Reels, who lives in the tourist-friendly town known for art galleries, shops and breweries. “Running water would be incredible.”
Even non-potable water is scarce. Some people are fetching buckets of water from a creek to flush their toilets. Officials are advising people to collect non-potable water for domestic use from local swimming pools.
Without full repairs to the water system, schools may not be able to resume classes in person, Hospitals cannot resume normal operations, And the city's hotels and restaurants may not fully reopen.
Lives were lost across the Southeast
Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, Pensacola, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Vehicles move along a washed-out road after Hurricane Helen.
A dozen people died in Florida Tampa areaA narrow, 20-mile (32-kilometer) string of barrier islands stretching from St. Petersburg to Clearwater suffered the worst damage.
“The water, it came so fast,” said Dave Behringer, who rode the storm to his home after telling his wife to evacuate. “Even if you wanted to leave, there was no way out.”
Among the dead was Aiden Bowles, a retired restaurant owner who refused to leave his Indian Rocks Beach home on a barrier island north of St. Petersburg. Caretaker Amanda Normand begged the 71-year-old widow to stay with her inner self.
“He said, 'It's going to be okay. I'm going to go to bed,'” Normand said of their final phone call on the night of Sept. 26.
In North Carolina, exhausted rescue workers and volunteers navigated past washed-out roads, power lines and mudslides to reach the isolated and missing.
“We know this is a difficult time, but we know we are coming,” Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller said. “We're coming to get you. We are coming to get our people.”
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Associated Press journalist Gary D. Robertson, in Raleigh, North Carolina; Jeffrey Collins of Columbia, South Carolina; and John Siwer in Toledo, Ohio contributed to this report.
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