Governor Cooper calls for a major disaster declaration for North Carolina

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has asked Washington DC for a major disaster declaration for the western mountain counties affected by Hurricane Helene.

Hundreds of roads were closed in the 16 western mountain counties on Friday. Governor Cooper urged residents to treat the situation as if all roads were closed and to stay home unless you need to evacuate or there is an emergency. This allows emergency services to help with the clean-up work. In Buncombe County, National Guard soldiers were deployed to assist in the cleanup effort and rapid water rescue crews were dispatched to assist people cut off by rising rivers, creeks and creeks.

“We are investing significant resources into this. We have already planned to have National Guard soldiers stationed in Buncombe County. We have rapid water rescue teams. We have resources that we're going to move into the area to try to help with that.” That's something we'll be dealing with in one way or another over the next few days and weeks and one way or another over the next few months said Governor Cooper.

Damaging winds have severely affected communications across the mountains. AT&T has remediation teams on standby, but could not provide an exact number of affected customers. Gov. Roy Cooper also addressed cell phone providers in a one-on-one interview with News 13. Verizon told News 13, “Hurricane Helene caused massive devastation across the region, resulting in power outages and fiber optic damage from high winds, debris and flooding from the storm. In the Carolinas, customers from Greenville, South Carolina, to the western north are experiencing service disruptions.” On-site repairs will begin as soon as it is safe to do so. Verizon teams are working around the clock to restore operations as quickly as possible.”

“I have personally spoken to the wireless companies, specifically Verizon and AT&T a few minutes ago, and told them about the issue. They have assured me that they know they have a significant problem as some of their towers are out of commission due to wind damage and when the wind dies down enough that it is safe for them to get repair people to them and get there during “Throughout the repair process, they will expend significant resources to repair this as quickly as possible,” said Governor Cooper.

On Friday afternoon, Swift Water Rescue teams were out in waters across the region to help rescue and search for people. Resources from more than a dozen states poured into North Carolina to help with rescue and cleanup efforts, and Gov. Cooper promised more will follow. Rivers are expected to continue rising through Sunday.

Currently, the state is working with FEMA, the American Red Cross and nonprofit organizations to set up an area with supplies that people can receive to help with the cleanup effort. As News 13 receives details on these sites, we will update this information.