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Gov. Cooper to tour Boone storm damage Thursday
The governor is scheduled to survey damage in Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties on Thursday.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will visit Boone on Thursday to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
Cooper plans to tour Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties during the trip. Those three counties include some of the hardest-hit areas in North Carolina, such as Blowing Rock, Boone and Newland.
The governor’s office says he will thank volunteers for the countless hours of work and speak with those impacted by the storm. And while the floodwaters have receded in many areas, business owners in the Boone area worry Helene’s timing will have a drastic impact on the fall tourism industry, which keeps the region’s economy going throughout the year. Several business owners told WCNC Charlotte October is the busiest month of the year for them, with App State football games and leaf-peeping raking in big money for the High Country.
Cooper and President Joe Biden took an aerial tour of the Asheville area on Wednesday, as the president got his first in-person look at Helene’s devastation. Many highways in the hardest-hit parts of North Carolina remained inaccessible, but from his Marine One helicopter, Biden saw flooded roads, piles of shredded lumber and displaced sandbags, emergency trucks and downed powerlines. In one area, homes were partly under water, and it was hard to distinguish between lake and land.
Helene’s death toll has risen to at least 190, including 94 people in North Carolina. The number is expected to climb as crews are able to reach more remote areas that were cut off by the storm.
Hundreds of roads remain closed in western North Carolina. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told WCNC Charlotte that Interstate 40 is a “clear priority” but cautioned against giving a timeline for when the highway will reopen. It’s going to be a long process. Buttigieg reiterated NCDOT’s warning that it will be “months at a minimum” before I-40 is fully repaired. A Google Maps alert states the road won’t be reopened until September 2025, but NCDOT officials say there isn’t an estimated time for when the highway will be fixed.
“I-40 is a clear priority,” Buttigieg told WCNC Charlotte. “There are also still parts of I-26 that are compromised, although I was pleased to see how much of that got back up and running by yesterday. We estimate over 400 roads still closed and are engaging with North Carolina DOT to address them. It’s difficult to overstate how profound and widespread the damage is here.”