North Carolina Governor Says 92 People Still Missing After Hurricane Helene

Rescue workers look for bodies following Hurricane Helene in Asheville, N.C., on Oct. 6, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

At least 92 people are still missing in North Carolina nearly three weeks after Hurricane Helene ripped through the western part of the state and left a trail of destruction, Gov. Roy Cooper said.

Cooper gave the figure during a news conference on Oct. 15 alongside officials from the state emergency management agency, the National Guard, the Public Safety Department, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The Democrat governor said North Carolina’s Department of Public Safety has formed a task force to find the individuals still unaccounted for in the wake of the hurricane.

He warned that the initial figure of 92 missing people will likely change as recovery efforts continue.

“I want to caution that this is not a definitive count because the task force is continuing its work,” Cooper said. “The number will continue to fluctuate as more reports come in and others are resolved.”

North Carolina was one of the states hardest hit by Helene, a Category 4 storm, in late September.

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, 95 Helene-related deaths have been reported, with the highest number of confirmed fatalities—42—seen in Buncombe County. That is followed by Yancey County, where 11 people died, and Henderson County, where seven people were killed by the hurricane.

In total, nearly 230 people were killed nationwide because of the hurricane, The Associated Press reported.

Speaking at the news conference, Cooper said that state and local partners have made “significant progress” in recent weeks to restore power, water, and cell service to residents. Officials have also reopened roads and distributed critical supplies to those in need, he said.

Customers without power now total a little under 13,000—down from about 1 million right after the hurricane struck—while roughly 580 roads remain closed, compared with the 1,200 road closures reported immediately after the hurricane struck, Cooper said.

Meanwhile, FEMA has approved 77,000 applications for relief, and the agency has already paid out $99 million in assistance, he said. FEMA is also currently paying for temporary housing for 1,900 people through its Transitional Sheltering Assistance program, according to Cooper.

The governor said Hurricane Helene brought “historic” levels of rain and damage to the state, particularly in the hard-to-reach mountainous areas.

He praised North Carolinians, who he said have “come together to help each other and begin to move forward” in the face of the “catastrophic” disaster.

“The road to recovery will be long, and we will be with western North Carolina every step of the way,” Cooper said.

‘Dangerous Flow of Misinformation’

Still, the governor warned of a “persistent and dangerous flow of misinformation” surrounding the disaster relief response to the storm.

He said this can “lead to threats and intimidation” and breed “confusion,” while demoralizing storm survivors and response workers alike.

Such misinformation includes claims that help is not coming to western North Carolina, which Cooper said is “completely untrue.”

“If you’re participating in spreading this stuff, stop it,” the governor said. “Whatever your aim is, the people you are really hurting are those in western North Carolina who need help. The safety of our government and volunteer response workers, including FEMA, remains a top priority.”

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Cooper’s political party. The Epoch Times regrets the error.