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As the rain from Hurricane Helene came down harder and harder, workers inside a plastics factory in rural Tennessee kept working. It wasn’t until water flooded into the parking lot and the power went out that the plant shut down and sent workers home.
Several never made it.
The raging floodwaters swept 11 people away, and only five were rescued. Two of them are confirmed dead and part of the death toll across the affected states that passed 150 Tuesday.
Four others are still unaccounted for since they were washed away Friday in the small town of Erwin, Tennessee, where dozens of people were rescued off the roof of a hospital.
Some workers managed to drive away from the plant, while others got caught on a clogged road where water rose enough to sweep vehicles away. Videos show the brown floodwaters from the adjacent Nolichucky River covering the nearby highway and lapping at the doors of Impact Plastics.
Jacob Ingram, a mold changer at the plastics factory, filmed himself and four others waiting for rescue as bobbing vehicles floated by. He later posted the videos on Facebook with the caption, “Just wanna say I'm lucky to be alive.” Videos of the helicopter rescue were posted on social media later on Saturday.
In one video, Ingram can be seen looking down at the camera, a green Tennessee National Guard helicopter hovering above him, hoisting one of the other survivors. In another, a soldier can be seen rigging the next evacuee in a harness.
Impact Plastics said in a statement Monday it “continued to monitor weather conditions” on Friday and that managers dismissed employees “when water began to cover the parking lot and the adjacent service road, and the plant lost power.”
In interviews with local news outlets, two of the workers who made it out of the facility disputed those claims. One told News 5 WCYB that employees were made to wait until it was “too late.” Another, Ingram, made a similar statement to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
“They should’ve evacuated when we got the flash flood warnings, and when they saw the parking lot,” Ingram said. “We asked them if we should evacuate, and they told us not yet, it wasn’t bad enough.”
Worker Robert Jarvis told News 5 WCYB that the company should have let them leave earlier.
Jarvis said he tried to drive away in his car, but the water on the main road got too high, and only off-road vehicles were finding ways out of the flood zone.
“The water was coming up,” he said. “A guy in a 4x4 came, picked a bunch of us up and saved our lives, or we’d have been dead, too.”
The 11 workers found temporary respite on the back of a truck driven by a passerby, but it soon tipped over after debris hit it, Ingram said.
Ingram said he survived by grabbing onto plastic pipes that were on the truck. He said he and four others floated for about half a mile (about 800 meters) before they found safety on a sturdy pile of debris.
Impact Plastic said Tuesday it didn’t have any updates.
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of great employees,” company founder Gerald O’Connor said in the statement Monday. “Those who are missing or deceased, and their families are in our thoughts and prayers.”
Hurricane Helene’s death toll increased Tuesday as searches in multiple states continued. Survivors were looking for shelter and struggling to find running water, electricity and food. Others in the region are bracing for barriers to voting.
The two confirmed dead at the Tennessee plastics factory are Mexican citizens, said Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus, executive director at Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. She said many of the victims’ families have started online fundraisers to cover funeral costs and other expenses.
Bertha Mendoza was with her sister when the flooding started, but they got separated, according to a eulogy on her GoFundMe page authored by her daughter-in-law, who declined an interview request.
“She was loved dearly by her family, community, her church family, and co-workers,” the eulogy read.
President Joe Biden will survey the devastation in North and South Carolina on Wednesday as rescuers continue their search for anyone still unaccounted for after Hurricane Helene’s deadly remnants caused catastrophic damage across the Southeast.
Many residents in both states were still without running water, cellular service and electricity as floodwaters receded and revealed more of the death and destruction left in Helene’s path.
“We have to jump start this recovery process,” Biden said Tuesday, estimating it could cost billions. “People are scared to death. This is urgent.”
Cadaver dogs and search crews trudged through knee-deep muck and debris in the mountains of western North Carolina on Tuesday looking for more victims.
“Communities were wiped off the map,” North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper, said at a news conference Tuesday.
Meanwhile, across the border in east Tennessee, a caravan including Gov. Bill Lee that was surveying damage outside the town of Erwin drove by a crew pulling two bodies from the wreckage, a grim reminder that the rescue and recovery operations are still very much ongoing and the death toll — already surpassing 160 — is likely to rise.
The storm, which was one of the deadliest in U.S. history, knocked out power and cellular service in some towns and cities, leaving many people frustrated, hot and increasingly worried days into the ordeal. Some cooked food on charcoal grills or hiked to high ground in the hopes of finding a signal to let loved ones know they are alive.
In Augusta, Georgia, Sherry Brown was converting power from the alternator of her car to keep her refrigerator running and taking “bird baths” with water she collected in coolers. In another part of the city, people waited in line more than three hours to try to get water from one of five centers set up to serve more than 200,000 people.
The devastation was especially bad in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where at least 57 people died in and around Asheville, North Carolina, a tourism haven known for its art galleries, breweries and outdoor activities.
In Swannanoa, a small community outside Asheville, receding floodwaters revealed cars stacked on top of others and trailer homes that had floated away during the storm. Roads were caked with mud and debris and pockmarked by sinkholes.
Cliff Stewart survived two feet of water that poured into his home, topping the wheels on his wheelchair and sending his medicine bottles floating from room to room. Left without electricity and reliant on food drop-offs from friends, he has refused offers to help him leave.
“Where am I going to go?” the Marine Corps veteran said Tuesday. “This is all I’ve got. I just don’t want to give it up, because what am I going to do? Be homeless? I’d rather die right here than live homeless.”
What is being done to help?
Exhausted emergency crews worked around the clock to clear roads, restore power and phone service, and reach those still stranded by the storm, which killed at least 166 people in six states, including many who were hit by falling trees or trapped in flooded cars and homes. Nearly half of the deaths were in North Carolina, while dozens of others were in South Carolina and Georgia.
More than 150,000 households have registered for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and that number is expected to rise rapidly in the coming days, said Frank Matranga, an agency representative.
Nearly 2 million ready-to-eat meals and more than a million liters of water have been sent to the hardest-hit areas, he said.
The storm unleashed the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina, dumping more than an estimated 2 feet (61 centimeters) of rain in places.
Cooper’s administration said Tuesday that more than two dozen water plants remained closed and were not producing water.
Active-duty U.S. military units may be needed to assist the long-term recovery, he said, adding that Biden had given “the green light” to mobilizing military assets in the near future.
A section of one of the region’s main arteries, Interstate 40, reopened Tuesday after a mudslide was cleared, but a collapsed stretch near North Carolina’s border with Tennessee remained closed.
How some of the hardest-hit areas are coping
Residents and business owners wore masks and gloves while clearing debris Tuesday in Hot Springs, North Carolina, where almost every building along the tiny town’s main street was heavily damaged.
Sarah Calloway, who owns the deli and gourmet grocery Vaste Riviere Provisions, said the storm arrived in town frighteningly quickly. She helped fill sandbags the day the night before, but they turned out to be useless. The water rose so rapidly that even though she and others were in an apartment on an upper floor, she feared they would not be safe. They called to request a rescue from a swift water team.
“They tried to get to us, and at that point they couldn’t,” she said. “Luckily, that was when the water started to recede.”
“It was really challenging to watch how quickly it rose up and then just to watch whole buildings floating down the river. It was something I can’t even describe,” she said.
In the Black Mountain Mobile Home Park in Swannanoa on Tuesday, Carina Ramos and Ezekiel Bianchi were overwhelmed by the damage. The couple, their children and dog fled in the predawn darkness on Friday as the Swannanoa River’s rapidly rising waters began flooding the bottom end of the mobile home park. By then, trees were blocking the roads and the couple abandoned their three vehicles, all of which flooded.
“We left everything because we were panicking,” Ramos said.
Their children were staying with Ramos’ parents and did not want to even see the devastated trailer.
“My daughter was crying, panicking,” Ramos said. “She says she doesn’t want to see her room full of toys, all thrown everywhere.”
Mobile service knocked out
The widespread damage and outages affecting key communications infrastructure left many people without stable access to the internet and cellular service, the Federal Communications Commission said.
Mayor Zeb Smathers of Canton, North Carolina, expressed frustration Tuesday that so many of his constituents were still without cellphone service with no clear timetable for when it would be restored.
“People are walking the streets of Canton with their phones up in the air trying to catch a cellphone signal like it’s a butterfly,” he told The Associated Press. “Every single aspect of this response has been extremely crippled by lack of cellphone communication. The one time we absolutely needed our cellphones to work they failed.”
Teams from Verizon were working to repair downed cell towers, damaged fiber cables and provide alternative forms of connectivity across the region, the company said in a statement.
AT&T, meanwhile, said it launched “one of the largest mobilizations of our disaster recovery assets for emergency connectivity support.”
The efforts to restore service was made more challenging by the region’s terrain and spread-out population, said David Zumwalt, president and CEO of the Association for Broadband Without Boundaries.
Destruction from Florida to Virginia
Helene blew ashore in Florida late Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane and upended life throughout the Southeast, where deaths were also reported in Florida, Tennessee and Virginia.
Across Georgia, Helene’s inland path knocked out power and shattered lives from Valdosta to Augusta, where a line of cars waiting to get water Tuesday stretched at least a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) down the road.
“It’s been rough,” said Kristie Nelson, who had no idea when her electricity would be restored. “I’m just dying for a hot shower.”
With at least 36 killed in South Carolina, Helene passed the 35 people who were killed in the state after Hurricane Hugo made landfall north of Charleston in 1989.
When Tennessee Gov. Lee flew to the eastern part of the state to survey damage on Tuesday, residents said the governor and his entourage were the first help they had seen since the storm hit.
“Where has everyone been?” one frustrated local asked. “We have been here alone.”
A couple driving along a western North Carolina interstate barely missed getting swallowed by a mudslide that came crashing down just behind their car Friday evening in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Dashcam footage from Alan and Kelly Keffer shows the moment the hillside gave way and smothered the lanes of Interstate 40 near Old Fort, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
Looped video of the mudslide.
(Alan Keffer via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Through the rear view camera, a few semi-trucks and smaller vehicles can be seen farther away from the Keffers’ vehicle, while others are spotted parked on the side of the road.
Then, within seconds, rocks and earthen debris crash onto the interstate. Debris can be seen flying higher than the semis nearby, and the cement barrier seen on the side of the road was effortlessly pushed away by the mudslide.
"Whoa!" Alan could be heard saying off-camera.
The front view camera shows mud splattering the windshield, and the vehicle could be heard revving up and speeding away from the mudslide.
Mud splattered onto the windshield.
(Alan Keffer via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Local reports say the couple was not injured. Officials closed part of the interstate because of the mudslide – one of several closures along I-40 in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.
Observation sites throughout the western part of the state reported between one and two feet of rainfall, causing roadways to washout and towns to be flooded. The Asheville area saw approximately four months’ worth of rain in three days due to remnants of Hurricane Helene.
Northeastern Tennessee communities are still reeling from the deadly impacts of flooding caused by Hurricane Helene, as a new video shows powerful floodwaters rushing away with a casket.
At least four people in Tennessee are included in the mounting death toll from Helene's destructive path across the Southeast, which now includes more than 125 dead across six states, including one death in Unicoi County, where the video was recorded.
A video shared with FOX Weather shows a tragic situation with a casket bobbing down the river as muddy water rushes along in Erwin, Tennessee.
A casket found in debris in Erwin, Tennessee after Helene's deadly flooding.
(Karen Tipton)
"Our community is in a state of shock and grief as we come to terms with the destruction caused by the flood. It's heartbreaking to see the loss of life and the devastation to people's homes and businesses," Erwin resident Karen Tipton told FOX Weather. "The floods have not only caused physical damage, but also emotional and financial damage to our close-knit community."
The casket seen in the video above was later found in the debris from flooding during a community cleanup effort. Tipton was part of a search team that included 100 people.
"It was an emotional and intense experience as we searched through debris and rubble," she said. "Despite the language barrier, we came together as a community to support one another and offer comfort to those who were still searching for their loved ones. It was a powerful reminder of the strength and resilience of our community."
Cleanup and recovery efforts continue across the Southeast this week after Helene caused deadly impacts from Florida to Virginia.
The full extent of Hurricane Helene's destruction is still unfolding as recovery efforts continue. The storm dumped an astonishing four-months-worth of rainfall on North Carolina in just three days, leading some to describe the event as "biblical."
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Helene has caused unprecedented devastation across the western portion of the state. He emphasized the scale of the recovery ahead, stating: "This will be a long and difficult recovery, and we must use every state, local and federal resource at our disposal to save lives, restore communications, and begin critical repairs to roads and infrastructure."
In response to the crisis, the governor has activated hundreds of National Guard troops, while search and rescue teams from across the country have rushed to the region to lend a helping hand. To date, more than 500 people have been rescued, and hundreds of pallets of essential supplies have been distributed.
The death toll continues to climb, with more than 120 fatalities reported across six states. Hundreds of people remain missing, and communication challenges have hampered rescue efforts. Some towns are only accessible by helicopter due to damaged roads and bridges. Millions of customers are still without power, and the threat of flooding remains as swollen rivers continue to rise in the Southeast.
More than 1,100 people are staying in shelters, and officials are opening more places for people who don't have a safe place to stay.
President Joe Biden is expected to visit Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday to witness the devastation firsthand.
The Rowan County Sheriff's Office played a crucial role in the response to the recent natural disaster in nearby Avery County. Alongside other first responders on the ground, they conducted welfare checks, rescues and damage assessments. Sheriff Travis Allen's footage captured the dramatic rescues.
Deputies help provide airlifts, food for hurricane-hit locals in North Carolina
The power of teamwork in the face of disaster. Helicopter rescues and welfare checks underway in North Carolina.
The power of teamwork in the face of disaster. Helicopter rescues and welfare checks underway in North Carolina.
"Deputies were assisting with patrol," Allen said. "Others were cooking hotdogs for whoever needed something to eat. Many of us were doing welfare checks and searching for the numerous missing people who are feared to have been swept away."
Vlado Novakovic captured dramatic footage of his home being swept away by floodwaters in Newland on Friday. The video shows the rising waters surrounding his house Thursday before the devastating event occurred.
Dramatic video captures the moment house is washed away during Helene floods
Video filmed by Vlado Novakovic shows floods encroaching on his home last Thursday and his house floating away the next day.
Video filmed by Vlado Novakovic shows floods encroaching on his home last Thursday and his house floating away the next day.
A video shared by @midwaymissle depicts the widespread destruction in Biltmore Forest. The footage shows numerous downed trees and broken branches littering the streets. Buncombe County officials confirmed during a news conference that there were multiple fatalities in the county following the storm.
Downed trees litter western North Carolina
Western North Carolina residents surveyed widespread storm damage to their neighborhoods on Sunday. Footage taken by @midwaymissle shows downed trees and broken branches in the town of Biltmore Forest.
Western North Carolina residents surveyed widespread storm damage to their neighborhoods on Sunday. Footage taken by @midwaymissle shows downed trees and broken branches in the town of Biltmore Forest.
Helene made landfall late Thursday night in Florida’s Big Bend region as a monster Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph.
Additional storms are brewing in the Atlantic. One of these systems could potentially follow a similar path as Helene, raising concerns about further devastation.