Eyewitness footage from Asheville, North Carolina, captured the moment when portions of a building and a shipping container were carried away by floodwaters resulting from Tropical Storm Helene.
Debris from a building belonging to the Asheville Tea Company broke apart upon colliding with an electrical pole, while the shipping container collapsed over the pole upon impact.
Officials reported that over 210 people are now confirmed dead after Helene left a trail of devastation across several U.S. states, making it the second deadliest storm to impact the U.S. mainland in over fifty years.
Helene made landfall in Florida last week as a major Category 4 hurricane.
President Joe Biden visited the southeastern U.S. for the second consecutive day to console residents of a region overwhelmed by a disaster that has disrupted life for millions.
People look out over flood damage in the aftermath of Helene in Bat Cave, North Carolina.
The storm inundated towns and cities, rendered countless roads impassable, disrupted power and water services, and left communities in shock as they commence a long recovery process.
More than half of the fatalities occurred in flood-stricken North Carolina, which is undergoing an unprecedented disaster described by some as post-apocalyptic.
“I see you, I hear you, I grieve with you – and I promise you, we have your back,” President Biden stated during a visit to a damaged pecan farm in Ray City, Georgia.
Helene is the deadliest hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which resulted in 1,392 deaths.
Despite hundreds of rescues across six states and a substantial response involving thousands of federal personnel along with many National Guard members and active-duty troops assisting local responders, the death toll from the extensive storm is anticipated to increase.
Numerous residents remain unaccounted for in a mountainous area known for its pockets of isolation.
“We are continuing to find survivors,” stated North Carolina’s Buncombe County, the epicenter of the tragedy where more than 70 fatalities have been confirmed. They noted that some residents are still cut off from the outside world due to landslides and destroyed bridges.
In Asheville, a city of approximately 100,000 situated at the foot of scenic mountains and a popular tourist destination, thick mud has covered the streets. Structures along riverbanks have been swept away.
Authorities are intensifying their search for survivors in remote locations, while downtown, restaurants and aid organizations are providing complimentary food and water. Repair crews are facing challenges in restoring power to the hundreds of thousands of customers still without electricity.
