Asheville, Buncombe County leaders distribute critical supplies after Hurricane Helene devastation

City of Asheville and Buncombe County leaders are starting to distribute critical supplies, including food and water after the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.

Buncombe County leaders confirmed Monday that 40 people in the county have died from impacts from Helene.

The distribution of supplies comes after Friday’s historic flooding left hundreds of thousands of people without water, food, power and cell service.

As of 4 p.m. ET Monday, Gov. Roy Cooper said North Carolina still had 415,000 power outages. He said 92 search-and-rescue teams are working as of Monday afternoon.

As floodwaters recede, the area is cleaning up from the damage left behind.

Some in the city of Asheville were without cellphone service, power and water for four days and counting.

On Monday, Buncombe County set up four distribution centers to provide food and meals. The centers distributed bottles of water and bags of food.

• William W. Estes Elementary School – 275 Overlook Road, Asheville
• Sand Hill Elementary – 154 Sand Hill School Road, Asheville (Please enter via Acton Circle)
• North Windy Ridge Intermediate School – 20 Doan Road, Weaverville
• Fairview Elementary School – 1355 Charlotte Highway, Fairview

Demand was high at Sand Hill Elementary — almost all of the food and water had been distributed within an hour.

For people who’ve gone four days without water, this was a big relief.

“[We’ve been] without water for four days,” said resident Martha Hicks. “No one has water on our street.

“It’s been terrible. It’s hard. I feel like it’s a little bit slow, but it’s a lot to try and organize.”

Photos: Hurricane Helene leaves devastation in Buncombe County

FEMA has delivered about 1 million liters of water and more than 600,000 meals to North Carolina. The federal agency has also established feeding sites at the following places:

• Buncombe County – Biltmore Baptist Church, 35 Clayton Road, Arden, NC 28704
• McDowell County – Grace Community Church, 5182 Highway 70 West, Marion, NC 28752
• Watauga County – First Baptist Church, 375 West King Street, Boone, NC 28607

There are still people who didn’t and couldn’t access these sites.

Buncombe County leaders said they’re working on a mobile distribution system to get food and water out to those folks.

However, they’re not sure when it will be ready.

In the meantime, many people are still having to scrounge for what food and water where they can, relying on friends, neighbors and private groups for help.