Western North Carolina reopens, though still with many struggles
Just over 4,000 customers in two North Carolina counties remained without power Sunday afternoon in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
The storm, a Category 4 hurricane when it hit Florida’s Big Bend, is tied to more deaths in the state than any other. An exact total of fatalities in the southeast has varied, though only three hurricanes have been responsible for more since 1950.
The Department of Health and Human Services, in its update Sunday, said 95 have died in North Carolina.
Entering a fourth week of recovery, U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., on Sunday said “all of western North Carolina is open for business. This includes Buncombe, Madison, Swain and Yancey counties, as well as all of Henderson, Polk and Rutherford counties.”
Edwards, congressman for one of the hardest hit areas by the storm in the Southeast, said in his message the “do not travel” advisory has ended and there is “a milestone of more than 200 wastewater treatment centers operating normal” across his…