Hurricane Helene live updates: More than 200 dead as hope fades in search for survivors

FEMA has responded to criticism from Republicans about the agency’s availability of funds for the rest of this year’s hurricane season after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said FEMA can meet immediate needs but “does not have the funds to make it through the season.”

Critics seized on Mayorkas’ statements to reporters yesterday on Air Force One, saying the Department of Homeland Security spent $600 million on shelters and services for migrants.

A DHS spokesperson responded today to the criticism, saying the claims are “completely false.”

“As Secretary Mayorkas said, FEMA has the necessary resources to meet the immediate needs associated with Hurricane Helene and other disasters,” the spokesperson said. “The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is a completely separate, appropriated grant program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated in any way with FEMA’s disaster-related authorities or funding streams.”

Jaclyn Rothenberg, FEMA’s director of public affairs, reiterated that the agency “has what it needs for immediate response and recovery efforts.”

“As [FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell] has said, she has the full authority to spend against the President’s budget, but we’re not out of hurricane season yet so we need to keep a close eye on it,” Rothenberg posted today on X. “We may need to go back into immediate needs funding and we will be watching it closely.”

Four people who were working at Impact Plastics, a facility in Erwin, Tennessee, are now confirmed dead, the Unicoi County Emergency Management Agency said at a news conference today.

One of them was Johnny Peterson, 55, of Erwin. Peterson, whose body was found Monday, died in river flooding caused by Hurricane Helene, according to an obituary hosted by Ledford Funeral Homes. The Nolichucky River is close to the facility where he worked.

His daughter, Alexa Peterson, confirmed her father’s death to NBC News.

Impact Plastics is under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation amid allegations from workers that they weren’t allowed to leave before the flooding began. The company denies the allegations.

Helene was an “unprecedented, devastating storm” for western North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said today in a news briefing, adding that “complete devastation” to the area’s transportation and water infrastructure is likely to cost billions.

“It’s going to take billions of dollars to make sure that we bring this transportation back up where it needs to be, but we need to take this time to make sure that when we rebuild western North Carolina — and we will — that it’s done in a more resilient way,” Cooper said.

He said that search-and-rescue operations continue and that emergency personnel are working to restore power, repair damaged utilities and deliver food and water to those in need.

At least 98 people in North Carolina have died of storm-related causes. Cooper said the death toll is expected to rise as recovery efforts continue.

Bottled water, generators and oxygen top the list of supplies needed by crews working to reach people still stranded by Hurricane Helene in Mitchell County, North Carolina.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said parts of the state are still grappling with significant damage from Helene, including widespread devastation to Georgia’s agricultural sector.

“I think the cotton crop will be almost a complete loss, a lot of the pecan crop will be a complete loss, or at least a complete loss for the affected counties there,” Kemp said. “So it’s going to be significant, not to mention the structures that have been damaged.”

He said he has spoken to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack about damage to farms, crops and poultry houses in the state, adding that the financial losses in the agriculture industry are expected to be steep.

“As you all know, the ag economy was not good before the storm, and it’s worse now,” he said.

Helene’s death toll in Georgia has climbed to 33. Vilsack and President Joe Biden are scheduled to travel to Georgia today to survey damage and meet with first responders and local officials.

Tissica Schoch describes riding out Hurricane Helene in her Black Mountain, North Carolina, neighborhood, where rising water trapped her and many of her neighbors.

Three counties in Georgia — Atkinson, Jefferson and Montgomery — are still more than 90% without power, and across the Southeast more than 970,000 customers remain in the dark.

The Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, will serve as the Northeast Tennessee Disaster Relief Center, operating as a donation and collection site, a staging area for search-and-rescue teams and a distribution center for recovery resources.

“Our communities, friends and loved ones are hurting, and we stand ready to assist in any way that we possibly can,” Jerry Caldwell, the speedway’s president and general manager, said in a statement.

The track, which has hosted a variety of events, including NASCAR races, will also be the site of a regional disaster relief hotline, which came online this morning. People in need can reach it at 423-830-2696.

A donation center in the BMS South Building off Volunteer Parkway will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., accepting bottled water, nonperishable food, baby supplies, personal hygiene products and other goods.

Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle was being hailed a hero after he used a private helicopter to deliver resources and supplies to people who have been stranded or are otherwise in need.

Biffle, a NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee and pilot, has been sharing videos on X of some of the supply runs, including one in which a person stranded in the mountains got his attention from over a mile away using a mirror to reflect light from the sun.

“6 attempts to land due to difficulty but we got there — got him a chainsaw, EpiPens, insulin, chicken food, formula, gas, 2 stroke oil, and sandwiches premade from Harris Teeter before we left,” Biffle wrote about the incident.

Biffle’s videos have also documented the widespread devastation across western North Carolina.

Read the full story here.

Sam Brock reports from Swannanoa, North Carolina, where an entire community has been uprooted and devastated by floodwaters, with a long way to go before returning to normality.

Thousands of North Carolina residents are still without electricity or clean running water following Hurricane Helene.

At least 202 people are confirmed dead from Hurricane Helene, according to an NBC News tally.

The fatalities include at least 98 deaths in North Carolina, 19 in Florida, 33 in Georgia, 39 in South Carolina, 11 in Tennessee and two in Virginia.

Tennessee’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Wednesday that it has opened an investigation into Impact Plastics, a factory in Erwin, Tennessee, where several workers died and some went missing after they were swept away by floodwaters from Helene.

A separate investigation into the plastics factory is already underway by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Tennessee OSHA said it will work with local officials and the Bureau of Investigation to coordinate an on-site inspection.

“During the investigative process, TOSHA investigators typically survey the location of the fatality, review company records and procedures, and conduct interviews with management and employees,” the agency said in a statement, adding that it has not received a fatality report from managers at Impact Plastics.

These kinds of investigations can take up to six months to complete. A final report with the agency’s findings will be available to the public.

The National Hurricane Center is tracking several storms and disturbances currently brewing, including an area of interest in the Gulf of Mexico that has only a 30% chance of developing into a tropical depression but is still expected to dump several inches of rain across the Gulf Coast and parts of Florida in the coming days.

The area of showers and thunderstorms will likely move slowly, posing a rainfall risk in southern and central Florida next week, regions that are still reeling from Hurricane Helene.

Heavy rainfall from this system is not expected to affect parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia that were hit hard by Helene, according to the latest forecasts.

Meanwhile, both Hurricane Kirk and Tropical Storm Leslie in the Atlantic do not pose a direct threat to land, according to the NHC. Kirk is, however, expected to strengthen into a Category 4 storm, and could generate swells that reach the East Coast of the United States on Sunday, causing dangerous rip current conditions.

Two prisons in western North Carolina have moved more than 800 inmates because they lack power and water, the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction said today.

People detained in Mountain View Correctional Institution in Spruce Pine and Craggy Correctional Center in Asheville are being moved due to what the department called "long timeframes" expected for the restoration of essential services.

They are being moved to six prisons across the state. The department moved 2,000 prisoners earlier this week.

South Carolina grandparents Marcia and Jerry Savage, 74 and 78, were killed when a tree fell on their bedroom during Helene last week.

Their grandson John Savage, 22, told The Associated Press he had checked on his grandparents during the storm and found them lying in bed. Then, Savage said, he heard a giant “boom” as one of the biggest trees on the family’s Beech Island property fell on top of the grandparents’ bedroom.

Savage said he found his grandparents hugging each other in the bed.

“When they pulled them out of there, my grandpa apparently heard the tree snap beforehand and rolled over to try and protect my grandmother,” he said.

The family remembered Marcia Savage, a retired bank teller, as an active church member who loved singing and cooking for the family. Jerry Savage had worked as an electrician and carpenter and was “in and out of retirement” because he loved to work.

The pair were teenage sweethearts and were married for over 50 years. Their deaths are just two of at least 190 linked to Helene.

Another hurricane in the Atlantic is forecast to bring large swells to the U.S. coast by Sunday.

Hurricane Kirk, currently a Category 3 storm, is about 2,000 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands, moving northwest. The National Hurricane Center said there are no watches or warnings in effect, as Kirk is well out in the ocean. However, it’s forecast to generate swells that could reach the East Coast of the United States on Sunday.

“These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the National Hurricane Center warned.

Damaged structures and and roads covered in mud are seen days after Helene tore through parts of North Carolina.

Biden will travel to Florida and Georgia today to tour damage from Hurricane Helene.

He is scheduled to take an aerial tour of affected areas en route to Perry, Florida, and will receive an operational briefing in Keaton Beach. The president will then tour damaged areas in Ray City, Georgia, before delivering remarks in the afternoon.

A TV station in Raleigh, North Carolina, raised $648,000 in a telethon last night for charities and aid groups helping stricken communities across the state.

Among the groups NBC affiliate WRAL was raising funds for is the Red Cross, which declared an urgent need for blood and platelet donations. More than 1,000 scheduled donations across the Carolinas and Georgia failed to be collected because of Hurricane Helene, the group said.

"Hospitals are overwhelmed, supplies are depleted, and blood and platelets are desperately needed. Those in areas of the state who can safely give blood are asked to roll up their sleeves and donate today to ensure that those who need access to lifesaving care can receive it. Pledge to give blood via this link," WRAL wrote.

Some members of the Tennessee Army National Guard are speaking out about Friday's rescue of dozens of people stranded on the roof of Unicoi County Hospital, and on nearby lifeboats, after the building was engulfed by Helene floods.

Dan Backus, a chief warrant officer in the Tennessee National Guard, said he and other soldiers raced a Black Hawk helicopter to the scene, but it was difficult amid fierce storm winds.

“The winds were violent. There was a lot of turbulence. I’ve been telling the guys after we got done flying that day, I felt like I’d gotten beat up in a street fight or something,” Backus told NBC affiliate WBIR of Knoxville.

Residents were warned yesterday against "all contact with water bodies affected by the extreme flooding in East Tennessee."

The advisory was issued by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and applies to surface waters in the Nolichucky, French Broad, Pigeon, Doe and Watauga River watersheds and any other waters affected by flooding.

The TDEC said “several wastewater treatment plants have been compromised” in Helene’s flooding and “are temporarily unable to completely treat effluent before it enters receiving waters.” Further, sewer line crossings also may have been "severed or damaged" following the storm.

The TDEC said the advisory was issued out of caution, not based on water quality data. Those who do come into contact with floodwaters are urged to "wash as soon as possible with clean water and soap."

The devastating impact of Hurricane Helene is still being felt across the South as the death toll rises to almost 200. Communities across the region continue to struggle without vital supplies such as food, water and gas. NBC’s Sam Brock reports and the "TODAY" show’s Dylan Dreyer shares the forecast.

SWANNANOA, N.C. — Flattened homes, impassable roads, swamped fields, downed power lines, raw emotions.

Nearly a week after Helene pummeled this small mountain town 20 miles east of Asheville, residents and business owners were trickling back yesterday to see what was left and what could be salvaged.

Beverly and Baxter Eller barely escaped the floodwaters that reached eye level as they fled their home of 37 years and drove off in search of higher ground, uncertain if they would ever return.

When they did, they found their home surrounded by a knee-high moat of muddy water, the garage lifted from its foundation and spun around.

Read the full article here.

Several days after floodwaters devastated entire communities in western North Carolina, only now are the first few victims being identified — as authorities warn of more to come.

Among them are 7-year-old Michael Drye and his grandparents, Nora and Michael Drye, who were trapped on a roof in Asheville and were swept away by the raging waters when the house collapsed, NBC affiliate WRAL of Raleigh reported last night.

"There is loss of life, and there’s a lot more to come," Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone told the station. "We’re still in the early stages of it."

Authorities are also facing the problem of not being able to identify bodies — some have no identification and are found miles from their home, Stone said. A forensic investigation is then launched by the coroner's office in such cases to find out who it is.

Facing what could be months without a steady water supply, the only solution for Mission Hospital was to dig a well.

The Asheville, North Carolina, hospital was crippled after fast-moving Helene dumped a record amount of rain in the region over the weekend.

“The entire water infrastructure to the area was obliterated,” said Hannah Drummond, a nurse at the hospital and the chief nurse representative for National Nurses United, the union that represents nurses at Mission Hospital.

The sewage system was so backed up after the storm, Drummond said, that it wasn’t possible to flush toilets.

“We were pooping in bags and buckets,” she said.

Read the full story here.

By the time many homeowners realize they need flood insurance, it’s too late. And for tens of thousands in North Carolina and across the Southeast, it’s too late.

Only about 2% of residences in the 100 counties hit hardest by Helene-related power outages were protected by flood insurance, according to an NBC News analysis of Census Bureau data, PowerOutage.us data and National Flood Insurance Program policy data that the insurance company Neptune Flood collected. 

Read the full article here.

A pregnant North Carolina woman and her dog held on to a mattress for eight hours to escape the raging floodwaters around her in the aftermath of Helene, in one of the many dramatic stories of survival that have emerged from the state in recent days.

While progress has been made in reconnecting the millions of energy customers who were cut off in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 26, there were still more than 1 million in the dark as of 4 a.m. ET today, according to PowerOutage.us.

Almost 400,000 of those are in South Carolina, specifically in the mountains and foothills in the western part of the state, which has been devastated by floods.

Some 300,000 customers are without power in North Carolina, as well as 264,000 in Georgia.

President Biden and Vice President Harris toured parts of the storm zone ravaged by Helene. With the election less than five weeks away, the campaigns face several challenges, including the devastation from Helene and the escalating conflict in the Middle East. NBC News’ Gabe Gutierrez reports.