(The Center Square) – In the third week since Hurricane Helene struck the North Carolina mountains, as many as 92 people may still be missing.
In media availability on Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper said the number “is not a definitive count, because the task for is continuing its work.”
“The number,” the second-term Democrat said, “will continue to fluctuate as more reports come in and others are resolved.”
It also seemed to back up U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., saying in a Thursday interview with Fox News Radio, “I keep hearing the number over 100 that are unaccounted for. I don’t know whether that’s in my area or down west from me, but in my area, I think there are still many people that we haven’t been able to get to because of the washout of the roads.”
Recovery efforts have been challenged by arguably the state’s worst natural disaster, comparable to Hurricanes Hazel in 1954 – the only Category 4 to make landfall in the state – and Floyd in 1999, producer in eastern North Carolina of what was deemed a once in 500 years flood.
Tuesday morning, the state’s road closure report included 579 – three on interstates, 38 federal highways, 58 state roads, and 480 secondary roads. Early estimates are for about 100 mountain bridges to need replacement.
Add in layers of both failed infrastructure like 12,000 without power on a Tuesday morning with temperatures in the 30s, water systems still failed, and circulating misinformation, and the task has grown past enormous.
“I have directed the Department of Public Safety to coordinate law enforcement assistance for FEMA and other responders who need it to help ensure their safety and security so people can keep getting the help that they desperately need,” Cooper said.
Deanne Criswell, administrator of FEMA and a leader among more than 2,000 from the federal government responding, said operational changes have been made.
“It’s heartbreaking to see words or active acts of hatred toward anyone, let alone federal responders who are here to help people in this critical time,” she said.
Helene came ashore in the Big Bend of Florida on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane. It moved swiftly through Georgia and dissipated over the Appalachian Mountains and Tennessee, dumping more than 30 inches of rain into multiple locations.
An exact number of deaths across multiple states is unclear, though it is believed between 206 and 251. There are two different numbers, respectively, for North Carolina (95 and 124), Tennessee (six and 17) and Florida (20 and 25); published reports put the figure at 49 for South Carolina, 33 for Georgia, two in Virginia, and one in Indiana.
For context, different agencies such as public safety or medical examiner’s offices may have differing metrics for linking fatalities to storms. For example, a death that happened in Wake County – about 250 miles east of Asheville – has been counted by the Department of Health and Human Services because it was a Buncombe County resident in temporary housing displaced by Helene.
Only Katrina (2005, deaths 1,392), Audrey (1957, deaths 416) and Camille (1969, deaths 256) killed more people by hurricane since 1950.
