{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://edwards.house.gov/media/press-releases/hurricane-helene-update-3-congressman-edwards", "Hurricane Helene update #3 from Congressman Edwards", "2024-09-30", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "House", "NC", "Chuck Edwards", "E000246", "edwards.house.gov", "edwards", "https://edwards.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "September 30, 2024\n\nDear Friend,\n\nToday is especially hard hitting in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. We\u2019re back to the work week and most of you likely should\u2019ve been on your way into the office this morning, if not for the damage caused by the storm.\n\nInstead, Western North Carolina is still on a DO NOT TRAVEL advisory from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Unless it is absolutely necessary, please stay off the roads and stay home.\n\nMajor updates today include a timeline for the restoration of service for most NC-11 Duke Energy customers by Friday, October 4, over 150 more roads have been cleared, and more resources are en route to western NC to ensure we will continue to have access to food and water over the coming days.\n\nToday is update number three, with more information to follow in the coming days. Please make sure to read everything and share it with your friends and family.\n\nFood and Water\n\nSupplying drinkable water remains a top priority for emergency crews.\n\n100 water systems are on a boil advisory and 38 plants have reported having no power.\n\nMy office has worked with private stakeholders to address potable water needs.\n\nJust this morning, an additional 12,000 cases of water were secured from our friends at Pepsi Bottling Co. and will be distributed to western NC through Red Cross and United Way.\n\nHenderson County worked with my office to secure an industrial-sized generator to power the Ingles Distribution Plant in Black Mountain, NC.\n\nIngles staff slept on site last night waiting for the generator to arrive.\n\nThis will allow the distribution facility to begin emptying its shelves to restock empty stores.\n\nWe are currently working on solutions to restock the distribution center.\n\nAs of the evening of September 29, 301 pallets of water (81,270 gallons) and 200 pallets of MREs (115,200 meals) have been deployed throughout our western counties.\n\nThe state has been unable to supply me with a location for where these meals and water have been dropped off but check your local shelters and stay tuned. As I learn more, so will you.\n\nThe State of North Carolina has promised 40 trailer loads of water and 20 trailer loads of food daily through at least October 6.\n\nCounties are beginning to stand up Resource Hub locations for water distribution and other supplies as they become available.\n\nDistribution will begin at noon today, Monday, September 30, 2024, at the following locations:\n\nEtowah Elementary: 320 Etowah School Rd., Etowah, NC 28729\n\nRugby Middle School: 3345 Haywood Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28791\n\nEast Henderson High School: 150 Eagle Pride Dr., East Flat Rock, NC 28726\n\nNorth Henderson High School: 35 Fruitland Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28792\n\nMills River Town Hall: 124 Town Center Dr., Milles River, NC 28759\n\nFletcher Town Hall: 300 Old Cane Creek Rd., Fletcher, NC 28732\n\nAs we learn of additional hubs, we will continue to update this list.\n\nPower and Gas\n\n396,000 customers remain without power in North Carolina.\n\nNearly all these outages are in Western North Carolina.\n\nDamage assessments show many areas in NC-11 where the power system will need to be completely rebuilt before service is restored.\n\nNonetheless, Duke Energy has stated that restoration of service for the majority of customers in Western North Carolina is expected by Friday, October 4, 2024.\n\nWARNING: Customers in areas that are inaccessible, dependent on infrastructure that has been destroyed or are unable to receive service may see additional delays.\n\nAn additional 7,000 linemen have made their way to the Carolinas to help restore power, meaning a total of over 18,000 linemen are here to serve WNC, including crews from 19 states and Canada.\n\nRoads\n\nA \u201cDO NOT DRIVE\u201d message remains in place from the North Carolina Department of Transportation for Western North Carolina.\n\nUnless it is an emergency, please do not travel.\n\n220 roads remain closed in Western North Carolina, a significant reduction from the 385 roads that were closed as of yesterday morning.\n\nI-40 remains closed from Exit 66 to Exit 72.\n\nNCDOT has established a base camp in Flat Rock with 250 people to assist with clearing roads.\n\nTransylvania County\u2019s roads have been some of the hardest hit:\n\n4 acres of Becky Mountain is gone.\n\n70 percent of U.S. 276 is gone near Connestee Falls.\n\n1,200 feet of East Fork is gone into the river.\n\nSevere damage on N.C. 215 due to multiple mud/landslides and parts of the road being completely gone.\n\nAsheville Regional Airport\n\nAsheville Regional Airport closed mid-day on Friday, September 27, due to risk of flooding.\n\nAs of TODAY, September 30, commercial air service is resuming.\n\nTwo American Airlines flights have already landed this morning.\n\nDelta and United are also resuming limited flights today.\n\nIf you parked your car in an Asheville Regional Airport lot and could not retrieve the vehicle due to the storm, great news \u2013 none of the airport\u2019s lots flooded and all cars are fine.\n\nStay safe and pick up your car when you are able.\n\nCell Service\n\nWhile significant limitations still exist, communications capabilities are beginning to increase.\n\nService providers have brought 24 more temporary cell sites online since yesterday\u2019s update, including temporary deployables in the following areas:\n\nDillsboro\n\nSylva\n\nWestern Carolina University\n\nCashiers\n\nHighlands\n\nCherokee\n\nFranklin\n\nBryson City\n\nLake Toxaway\n\nNorth Carolina National Guard\n\n650 North Carolina National Guard soldiers and airmen have been deployed to provide support to Western North Carolina so far.\n\nThis includes the deployment of 250 vehicles, such as High-Water Vehicles, Palletized Load Systems for commodity distribution, and Forestry Support Teams for debris clearance.\n\nAir missions continue today in support of search and rescue, damage assessments, and supply delivery.\n\nAdditional National Guard personnel, vehicles, and air assets will be arriving today, Monday, September 30.\n\nFor Local Government Resource Requests\n\nFor county leaders: This is a reminder to make sure your Emergency Operation Center has submitted the request for gasoline, food, water, cell service deployables, etc. with North Carolina Emergency Management to have your request processed and resources delivered.\n\nMy office stands ready to assist with checking the status of your request if the county or municipality has not heard back from NC Emergency Management within 24 hours.\n\nFor Individual Assistance through FEMA\n\nNorth Carolina received a Major Disaster Declaration for the following counties: Buncombe, Clay, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, and Yancey Counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.\n\nIf you reside in one of the above-listed counties and had damage to private property due to Hurricane Helene, you may be eligible for Individual Assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.\n\nIndividual Assistance provides financial aid and services to eligible individuals and households that have been affected by a disaster to assist with the recovery process. Individuals can officially begin applying for Individual Assistance online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or by calling the application phone number at 1-800-621-3362 (TTY: 800-462-7585) between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. EST.\n\nTo date, over 2,000 survivors have registered with FEMA for Individual Assistance.\n\nFEMA has also approved two new programs for use in NC:\n\nDisplacement Assistance - Provides immediate housing for up to 14 days\n\nSerious Needs Assistance - Provides immediate financial assistance to replace and recover financial needs.\n\nTo Connect with a Loved One\n\nResidents trying to connect with family members may call NC 211 (or 1-888-892-1162 if calling from out-of-state) to report missing loved ones or request a welfare check.\n\nAdditionally, people in the impacted areas can indicate that they are safe by reporting themselves safe through Red Cross Reunification by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767).\n\nPlease only use 911 for life-threatening emergencies so the lines remain open for critical situations.\n\nShelters\n\nFor those unable to evacuate to a safe location or in need of a place to go, the following shelters are currently open and available as of September 29:\n\nBuncombe\n\nA-B Technical Community College\n\n340 Victoria Rd., Asheville, NC 28801\n\nFirst Baptist Church Swannanoa\n\n503 Park St., Swannanoa, NC 28778\n\nWNC Agricultural Center\n\n1301 Fanning Bridge Rd., Fletcher, NC 28732\n\nHaywood\n\nHaywood County Government Armory\n\n285 Armory Dr., Clyde, NC 28781\n\nHenderson\n\nEdneyville Elementary School\n\n2875 Pace Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28792\n\nHenderson County Recreation Center\n\n708 S. Grove St., Hendersonville, NC 28792\n\nJackson\n\nCashiers Recreation Center\n\n355 Frank Allen Rd., Cashiers, NC 28717\n\nJackson County Department of Aging\n\n100 County Services Pk., Sylva, NC 28779\n\nMadison\n\nMadison County Wellness Center\n\n5734 US 25-70 Hwy., Marshall, NC 28752\n\nMcDowell\n\nFirst Baptist Church of Old Fort\n\n203 E. Main St., Old Fort, NC 28762\n\nGlenwood Baptist Church\n\n1550 Old US 221 S., Marion, NC 28752\n\nMcDowell County Senior Center\n\n100 Spaulding Rd., Marion, NC 28752\n\nPolk\n\nPolk County High School\n\n1681 NC 108 Highway E., Columbus, NC 28722\n\nRutherford\n\nRutherfordton/Spindale Central High School\n\n641 US 221 Hwy. N., Rutherfordton, NC 28139\n\nSwain\n\nSwain Community College\n\n125 Brendle St., Bryson City, NC 28713\n\nTransylvania\n\nPisgah Forest Baptist Church\n\n494 Hendersonville Hwy., Pisgah Forest, NC 28768\n\nYancey\n\nBurnsville Fire Department\n\n305 Pineola St, Burnsville, NC 28714\n\nSouth Toe Elementary School\n\n139 South Toe School Rd., Burnsville, NC 28714\n\nWest Yancey Volunteer Fire Department\n\n6557 US Hwy. 19, Burnsville, NC 28714\n\nWith my warmest regards,\n\nChuck Edwards\n\nMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://edwards.house.gov/media/press-releases/hurricane-helene-update-3-congressman-edwards"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4844948891550303, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}