Hurricane Helene caused widespread devastation throughout our area, but locals — with a lot of solidarity from elsewhere — are working to keep each other safe. Here’s what happened and where you can get needed resources, supplies and help
Above: Asheville’s heavily-flooded river district, as seen on Friday, September 27
1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11
A lot has shifted over the past week. What follows is an overall update about the situation we face and some key resources to help face it.
While water remains out through the majority of the city, a large bypass line to the North Fork reservoir was connected to the larger system in the early hours of Thursday morning. Helene also brought a lot of sediment from the bottom of the reservoir to the surface. Currently the EPA is collaborating with water system workers to reduce sediment in the surface water enough that it can start moving through the system.
When it does, it’s expected to have more sediment than usual, and anyone on the city system who has water remains under a boil advisory for the foreseeable future. If your power has come back but you don’t have water, turn off the breaker for your hot water asap so it doesn’t pose a serious fire risk.
But after that there’s the issue of breaks throughout the city’s water lines. While the reservoir and sediment issues were caused by Helene being an incredibly catastrophic storm, the neglect of those aging lines, due to decades of city hall policy cutting a massive discount for big business, was behind previous water system failures in 2019 and 2023. So that may take awhile.
At a briefing this morning, water system spokesperson Clay Chandler said that while full restoration was still, as officials have claimed since the storm, weeks away, it’s now “fewer weeks than it was.”
As locals need food and water to live, it’s worth being aware of the extensive number of sites that have emerged to meet this need. There are too many to list all of them, so here’s a regularly updated list.
The YWCA (185 South French Broad Ave) is offering a particularly extensive array of supplies for locals in need 1 to 4 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. In addition to food and water, they’ve got toiletries, baby supplies and even some first aid supplies.
The citywide curfew is now reduced to 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Transit is operating again on a limited basis, but steadily expanding. More information here.
City government is also offering sites with food, bottled water and non-potable water for flushing toilets at:
Pack Square Park, 70 Court Plaza
Linwood Crump Community Center, 121 Shiloh Rd
Lucy Herring Elementary, 98 Sulphur Springs Rd
Asheville Middle School, 211 South French Broad Ave
Oakley Elementary School, 753 Fairview Rd
Updates from city government are available here.
Buncombe County has also set up two “community care stations” with laundry, showers, bathrooms, counseling, wi-fi and more. These will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and are at:
Ace Madden Hardware, Swannanoa, 2319 Hwy 70
A.C. Reynolds High, 1 Rocket Dr.
The A.C. Reynolds site also has FEMA staff on hand for locals to apply for disaster assistance.
Hot meals are available at both of these sites from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
County government is also offering bottled water, non-potable bulk water for flushing toilets and MREs at the following sites, 12 to 4 p.m.
Estes Elementary School 275 Overlook Rd, Asheville
Sand Hill Elementary, 154 Sand Hill School Rd, Asheville
North Windy Ridge Intermediate School, 20 Doan Rd, Weaverville
Fairview Elementary School, 1355 Charlotte Highway, Fairview
Black Mountain Ingles, 550 NC-9, Black Mountain
Leicester Elementary School, 31 Gilbert Rd, Leicester
Updates from county government are available here.
Yesterday the Firestorm Co-op ended its role as a mutual aid hub. It will reopen in its usual role as a community space and bookstore sometime in the near future.
Continue to stay clear of major rivers, waterways and mud in low-lying areas due to extensive pollution and contamination from flood waters.
At least 91 people in our city and county are dead from Helene and its immediate aftermath, according to the official count.
11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5
There’s a lot to update, so for length we’re going to focus on urgent information and the additional resources that have become available. The links and resource sites listed in our previous Oct. 1 update still apply, though we note their expanded hours here.
Remember that river water and mud is often incredibly polluted, especially considering the number of industrial sites along the French Broad and Swannanoa Rivers. Stay away. There are already multiple reports of people being sickened or even burned from contact with contaminated water or mad.
At a briefing yesterday, Buncombe County spokesperson Stacey Wood outright said that “all of these rivers should be regarded as hazmat sites.”
If your well flooded, the county has published instructions on how to disinfect it and get their Environmental Health Department to test it to determine if it’s safe to use.
Asheville city government has opened up three additional food and water distribution sites in addition to those listed in the Oct. 1 update. All sites, new and older, are now open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. as long as supplies last.
Linwood Crump Community Center, 121 Shiloh Community Center
Lucy Herring Elementary, 98 Sulphur Springs Road
Oakley Elementary School, 753 Elementary School
Buncombe County government has opened three additional food and water distribution sites in addition to the ones listed in the Oct. 1 update. All sites are now open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day while supplies last:
Black Mountain Ingles, 550 NC-9, Black Mountain
Cane Creek Middle School, 570 Lower Brush Creek Rd, Fletcher
Leicester Elementary School, 31 Gilbert Rd, Leicester
The Family Assistance Center operating out of the Register of Deeds has a large-scale volunteer effort to try to contact or check on those whose family and friends haven’t been able to reach them yet. They’re accepting help from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily at their office (205 College St).
Limited street trash collection has resumed in Asheville and Buncombe County, though they can’t take flood debris.
An additional shelter has opened at Gold’s Gym (1815 Hendersonville Rd). It specifically has space for families with children, though it is open to others as well.
The YWCA (185 S French Broad) now has a particularly well-stocked supply site open every day 1 to 4 p.m. as long as supplies last. In addition to food and water they’ve got toiletries, baby supplies and even some first aid supplies.
Limited bus service will resume in Asheville on Monday, Oct. 7. More information on which routes will resume, and how to access them, is available here.
Firestorm Co-op in West Asheville (1022 Haywood Rd) remains open noon to 4 p.m. as a hub for multiple mutual aid groups as well as for donations and drop-offs, with a daily briefing on the ongoing crisis at 2 p.m.
Reminder, as too many aid sites are opening to easily list, here is a document with an ongoing updated list.
Pisgah Legal Services is offering free assistance with filing for FEMA aid on Monday, October 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at its offices in Asheville (62 Charlotte St) and Hendersonville (440 S Church St).
The Asheville water system, aging and long-neglected by local governments, is still rebuilding catastrophic damage, especially to the main transmission lines outside of the North Fork reservoir, which is the city’s main water source. Only one of its three plants, at Mills River, is functioning, though it recently boosted its output. There is still no firm timeline on the return of water service, beyond officials saying it will likely be “several weeks” for the full system. If you do have water from the tap in Asheville, make sure to boil it for several minutes before using.
As power is coming back on for tens of thousands in the area, make sure to turn your breakers — especially for the hot water heater — off to avoid a risk of fire.
As of now, 72 people are confirmed dead and over 250 missing. Tragically, while the number of missing has steadily declined the number of dead is likely to rise even more.
Be wary of misinformation and conspiracy theory lies that are spreading during this time. The actual situation — a catastrophic storm whose destruction was worsened by decades of elite exploitation and incompetence — is devastating enough. No lithium mine plots required. Don’t buy into that bullshit and don’t spread it.
3:00 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1
Readers, we regret the delay since our last update. We hope you and your loved ones are all safe. Like so many others we had to turn to dealing with the unfolding catastrophe as best we could.
The journalists in our co-op are all safe. We spent much of the past few days helping friends, checking on neighbors and dealing with a near-total lack of communications due to widespread phone and internet outages. Now that things have stabilized, a bit, we hope to resume regular updates on here.
Helene absolutely devastated this area as it struck in full Friday morning. At least 40 people are dead and that number will almost certainly rise. Hundreds remain missing. Asheville’s river district, much of Swannanoa and many other areas and towns along the river are destroyed. The French Broad river only dipped below flood level this morning.
Power and cell service are slowly coming back online, but as of this writing about 78,000 households remain without power in the city and its outskirts. If you have a radio 88.1 FM, Blue Ridge Public Radio, is the main FM station broadcasting updated safety and supply information.
Many roads remain blocked due to landslides, fallen trees and power lines, though I-40 eastbound and I-26, in both directions, are now open.
The deluge severely damaged Asheville’s aging water system. While the North Fork Reservoir stayed intact the main and back-up pipes leading to it were all broken, and damage to the surrounding roads has made them difficult to access. The Mills River plant is still online but can only supply a fraction of the system, though there are efforts underway to increase that. City officials have said it could be weeks before full service to the system is restored, though it’s likely some service to some areas will start coming online before that time. Pretty much every water system in the area is under a boil water advisory so if you do happen to have water, boil it vigorously for a few minutes before using for anything but flushing toilets.
Large-scale water distribution at multiple sites around the area started yesterday.
Asheville city government has set up two water distribution sites. The first, in Pack Square Park, is walk-up only and you’ll need to bring your own containers. Limit is two gallons per person per day, with a five gallon limit for households.
An additional site at Asheville Middle School (211 South French Broad Ave) is set up for drive-thru, with one case of bottled water distributed per family per day. Both sites are changing their hours to 12 to 4 p.m. starting tomorrow, Oct. 2.
Buncombe County government has also set up four water distribution sites, open 12 to 4 p.m., at:
Estes Elementary School 275 Overlook Rd, Asheville
Sand Hill Elementary, 154 Sand Hill School Rd, Asheville
North Windy Ridge Intermediate School, 20 Doan Rd, Weaverville
Fairview Elementary School, 1355 Charlotte Highway, Fairview
All four of these sites also have MRE rations available, and hope to have more food supplies in the coming days.
As before, future updates from county emergency services can be found here.
In Asheville the police are enforcing a nightly curfew between 7:30 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. until further notice. They’re also stationed outside closed chain grocery stores, because property remains their priority even during this catastrophe.
The Firestorm Co-op in West Asheville is open 12 to 4 p.m. every day to distribute information and resources, with a 2 p.m. daily briefing on the current situation. More information, and links to several mutual aid groups doing solid work on the ground, can be found here.
Fortunately over the past 48 hours a multitude of sites have opened providing supplies and resources, here’s a regularly updated list.
FEMA, along with the National Guard and multiple other federal agencies, are on the ground. To file for disaster assistance from FEMA if your home, vehicle or business was damaged by the storm, go here. You can also call the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-3362, between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., seven days a week.
The Register of Deeds has an online form to help connect locals who are missing or may have lost contact in the storm. They can also be reached by 828-820-2761.
While the devastation and grief are widespread, it’s important to resist rumors of further catastrophe or give in to the feeling things are hopeless. They are not. After a harrowing few days far more water and resources are arriving in our area.
Local governments had failed to put aside their own secure stockpiles. City government hadn’t bothered to have a reserve of water or a distribution plan despite the catastrophic system failure in early 2023. Depressingly, the same firefighters who fought heroically to save lives over the past week remain badly underpaid. County government’s emergency water reserves were with an outside organization cut off by the heavily-flooded Swannanoa River. It took days for large-scale federal and state relief to arrive.
But during that dangerous time people on the ground, in a thousand different ways, saved this city. They acted on their own to check on neighbors, share supplies, clear roads and keep each other safe. Relief, including from places around the country and world, is pouring in. Looking around today we see that spirit of cooperation, in the face of the very real destruction, far more than we do chaos and doom.
There is hope there, and we will make it through.
7:30 a.m. Friday, Sept 27
A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for the Swannanoa River Valley. This is the official announcement from city government:
“Due to the catastrophic rain in the area, the North Fork Reservoir auxiliary spillway has been activated. The dam is performing as designed, and the volume of water flowing downstream will increase as the storm intensifies. Due to the high risk, a MANDATORY EVACUATION of the Swannanoa River Valley area is in place. All residents within the designated area downstream of the reservoir are required to move to higher ground. If you need assistance to evacuate, please call 911.”
Emergency shelters are at the civic center in downtown Asheville (87 Haywood St) and at the WNC Agricultural Center (Davis Building, Gate 5).
5:30 a.m. Friday, Sept 27
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for the entire Asheville area due to worsening and serious floods, and a Flash Flood Emergency for much of the city, Swannanoa and Black Mountain, especially around the French Broad and Swannanoa Rivers. If you are near those rivers, seek higher ground immediately. Do not travel unless evacuating or fleeing life-threatening flooding. The next few hours are set to be the most dangerous yet, as torrential rains and winds from Helene slam into our area.
Buncombe County Emergency Services just announced that, effective immediately, the emergency shelters at Trinity Baptist Church and First Baptist Church Swannanoa are closed. They direct anyone seeking emergency shelter to go to the WNC Agricultural Center (Davis Building, Gate 5).
3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26
Buncombe County Emergency Services are directing anyone in Fletcher and Biltmore Village close to the rivers to evacuate.
Their latest statement declares:
“Residents, businesses, visitors, and employees in Fletcher and Biltmore Village near the rivers should self-evacuate before anticipated crests overnight Friday and into Saturday morning. Flooding is expected to rival and/or surpass flooding from the 1916 flood.
‘If you are in an impacted area, you should leave now,’ said Emergency Services Director Taylor Jones. ‘It’s possible we may get to a point where our crews will not physically be able to perform rescues. We cannot emphasize how much you should take this seriously.'”
According to the statement First Baptist Church Swannanoa (503 Park St in Swannanoa) and Trinity Baptist Church (216 Shelburne Rd in Asheville) have opened shelters for evacuees.
Emergency Services’ latest announcements, along with updated lists of shelters and resources, can be found here.
12:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26
As you’re probably aware by now Helene, an unusually large hurricane, is heading for our area. Set to make landfall in Florida today the hurricane is then forecast to slice up through Georgia and into Tennessee. As it does it will send waves of rain falling onto the already-drenched ground of Western North Carolina.
Asheville is set to get hit with six to eight inches of rain. Farther up the Blue Ridge as much as a foot of downpour may fall.
The result, as the official Flood Warning this morning from NOAA put it, is that “flooding may reach some areas that have not seen flooding in at least 20 years.”
Rainfall projections from Hurricane Helene, from the National Weather Service
“Many residents new to the region since 2004 may see unprecedented flooding across the French Broad and Swannanoa River Valleys.”
“Numerous structures, including homes and businesses, are likely to be inundated as a result of Major flooding.”
The warning encourages those living close to the rivers and in danger to relocate and anyone driving near floods to “turn around, don’t drown” rather than try to navigate flooded area. You can stay updated on the latest NOAA alerts here.
Indeed some areas near those rivers are already facing serious flooding, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Overdevelopment near the river means that, if anything, the danger is even greater than two decades ago. The official forecast from NOAA expects the French Broad to rise even higher than the 2004 floods before it finally declines again Saturday afternoon.
If you don’t know about the flood risk where you live, state government has a useful map here and another showing road closures here. Already a considerable part of I-26 East is shut down, as are many roads around Biltmore Forest.
Especially tonight and tomorrow it’s a good idea to stay home and avoid the roads unless there is a truly dire emergency.
Local governments have declared a state of emergency and pretty much every event is canceled. Buncombe County’s announcement and updates are here. City government’s information page about the disaster is here.
Wind gusts, starting tonight and going through Friday, may reach as high as 60 mph, so secure loose objects on yards and porches. According to the Duke Energy outage map, over 2,000 households in the area are already without power. So make sure you have batteries, light sources and power packs ready.
An underrated danger in emergencies like this is a loss of water due to landslides and floods damaging pipes. After the 2004 floods some households were without potable water for well over a week. An alert from the Asheville water system yesterday urged locals “to be prepared for potential water outages.” Ther are already reports of water outages in the Woodfin area.
Given that Asheville’s aging water system had a catastrophic failure as recently as last year, it is an incredibly good idea to fill up your bathtub and spare containers, as well as keeping any bottled water supplies handy.
Homeless shelters are, thanks to public pressure, opening extra space after local governments declared an unusual non-winter Code Purple.
This disaster is fueled by global climate change, with unusually warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico leading to Helene’s size and threat. Local governments allowing over-building along the river has also made the danger worse, increasing flooding and damaging the natural environments that would help absorb it.
In the coming hours and days, we have to deal with the results. So double-check your preparations, check in on your neighbors and be as ready as you can be. Our best chances of getting through this are together.
We keep us safe.
Blade reporters are facing this emergency as locals as well as journalists, but to the extent we can we will regularly update this with any major new developments.
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