Governor Cooper Surveys Storm Damage in Madison County, Joins EPA Administrator Michael Regan to Assess Water Infrastructure in Haywood and Buncombe Counties

Today, Governor Roy Cooper traveled to Marshall in Madison County on Thursday morning where he was joined by Mayor Aaron Haynie as well as FEMA and state officials to survey storm damage. Following this visit, the Governor joined EPA Administrator Michael Regan to assess water infrastructure damage and discuss federal support to rebuild water systems in Western North Carolina.

"Today I traveled to Marshall and the Madison County Emergency Operations Center, met with residents, first responders, soldiers and business owners and again saw how they are working together with local, state and federal officials to recover and rebuild," said Governor Cooper. "I also surveyed sites with EPA Administrator Michael Regan where work is happening to restore clean drinking water and we discussed streams for federal funds that are needed to build back these systems stronger than ever. We'll continue our unprecedented response with our federal, state, local and non-profit partners to surge resources where they're needed in Western North Carolina."

In Marshall, the Governor was joined by FEMA Region 4 Administrator Robert Samaan, NCDPS Secretary Eddie Buffaloe, NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins and NCDEQ Secretary Mary Penny Kelley. During the Governor's travels to Haywood and Buncombe counties with Administrator Regan, he visited an EPA mobile command center that provides a space for first responders and scientists to direct field activities, a mobile drinking water lab that is designed to help local and state governments lift boil water advisories and the North Fork Water Treatment Plant to review operations in the wake of the storm.

Goods and services continue to flow into impacted communities through state, federal and local partners. The North Carolina National Guard and the Joint Task Force- North Carolina have assisted thousands of people who needed rescue, evacuation and other assistance.

Photos from the Governor's visit to Western North Carolina can be found here.

North Carolina National Guard and Military Response

More than 3,500 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 101st 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 29 aviation assets 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 $70 million in FEMA Individual Assistance funds have been paid so far to Western NC disaster survivors and more than 143,000 people have registered for Individual Assistance. Approximately 1,250 households are now housed in hotels through FEMA's Transitional Sheltering Assistance. Federal partners have delivered approximately 10 million liters of water and approximately 7.8 million meals in North Carolina to support both responders and people living in the affected communities.

1,000+ 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 1,400 responders from 36 state and local agencies have performed 125 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 16 shelters are open in Western North Carolina serving 695 people and 95 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, approximately 90,000 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 approximately 2,100 employees and 1,100 pieces of equipment working on approximately 6,000 damaged road sites.

Fatalities

Ninety-one 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected].

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