Quaker Meadows and River Village areas flooded on Saturday, Sept. 28.
Gas lines were everywhere throughout Burke County during the days after Hurricane Helene
Morganton Limbwalkers Tree service clears a mammoth old Oak tree that fell on a residence in Morganton.
River Village
Preparing to conduct an aerial tour of Burke County are (from left) N.C. Speaker of the House Tim Moore, Rep. Hugh Blackwell, and Burke Sheriff Banks Hinceman.
The flood advisory for Burke County was lifted at 1 p.m. today.
Power is being restored by the thousands of households daily. Morganton has lifted all boil water advisories. Electric crews are working through the debris, one street at a time.
The impressive progress in Burke County’s painful recovery from the devastation from Hurricane Helene continues.
High water marks are visible along all the flood zones. One impressive fact: Water at Freedom High School’s football field was up to the goal post cross bar. That’s 10 feet above field level.
Each passing hour brings stories good and bad. The heroes in the community, and the businesses ruined long term.
River waters are receding. It is a process that will continue for weeks, perhaps months. begins what will be a slow recovery of its entire infrastructure as a result of the historic and catastrophic damage from Hurricane Helene.
And, everywhere you turn, you see increasing examples of neighbors helping neighbors, of volunteers in droves from near and far, providing invaluable assistance night and day to hundreds of hurricane victims.
Shelters and makeshift, roadside humanitarian aid stations are distributing water, food, and necessary supplies. Restaurants across the county are feeding utility workers and are supplying food to shelters.
The recovery will be long, but steps forward will be rapid. The Paper will be updating its website continuously with developments as they occur.
Our special Hurricane Helene-coverage e-editions are included in the gallery of images.
HERE IS WHAT WE KNOW AS OF OCT. 2, 2:50 p.m.
Duke Energy reports that 54% of its 22,830 customers in the county remain without power. Rutherford EMC reports that 37% of its 20,689 customers remain without power. Combined, 19,944 of the 43,519 customers served by both utilities are without power.
The Burke County government has identified four Points of Distribution locations that have emergency supplies. The free supplies include non-perishable food, water, batteries, baby wipes, diapers, toiletries, and other essential items.
The locations are:
- George Hildebran Fire and Rescue, 7470 George Hildebran School Road in Connelly Springs
- Longtown Fire Department, 7765 South Mtn. Institute Road in Nebo
- Enola Fire and Rescue, 2510 Enola Road in Morganton
- Jonas Ridge Fire Department, 8224 Buckeye Hollow Road in Newland
Free ice has been replenished at the county’s Valdese/Drexel ice location at Jim’s Indoor Flea Market at 1020 Main St. W. in Valdese. The ice is meant to keep food cold, not for consumption.
Valdese Recreation Department is offering free public showers from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., at 312 Massel Ave. SE. Bring your own toiletries and towel.
Burke County Schools report 11 campuses have power and water; 12 do not. Food replacement shipments are due Thursday to replace spoilage. Decisions about school opening next week are pending.
Morganton has lifted all boil water advisories, including Brentwood, Burke County and Lakes James communities. Valdese has lifted their boil advisory. Drexel, receiving Morganton water, is technically no longer under the boil advisory, but is testing water samples and being overly cautious.
Boil Water advisories remain in place for Icard Township.
Morganton’s electric crews are focusing on Asheville, East Union and Meeting streets, downtown, and Carbon City Road.
Next up: Riverside Drive, Vinearden Road, and Kirksey Drive.
Electric power has been restored to 60% to 65% of homes and businesses in Morganton. Crews from Greenville, Wilson, and other towns are assisting in the recovery. However, some businesses and residents could remain without power until the end of the week.
Morganton’s CoMPAS Cable internet, telephone, and television service continues to be restored.
The Morganton campus of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics remains without power and water. The campus is closed for the remainder of the week. School officials are reconfiguring schedules to adjust for the closures.
Western Piedmont Community College remains closed for the week. Duke Energy is using WPCC’s grounds for staging supplies and staff.
The Paper will resume home delivery this Saturday in the Valdese, Morganton, and Drexel areas. High water damage around the lakes and rivers may prevent home delivery until it is safe.
President Biden has granted Gov. Roy Cooper’s request for a Federal Major Disaster Declaration for Tropical Storm Helene providing immediate federal help for Burke County.
What does this mean for you? Morganton resident Rhonda Lee said you can apply for disaster assistance from FEMA to help offset your disaster-related expenses.
Apply online at https://www.disasterassistance.gov/ or by telephone at 800-621-3362.
The FEMA weather app can be downloaded from Google PlayStore or the Apple Store and you can apply for assistance on the app and upload receipts.
Some tips:
1. One of the questions that FEMA will ask when you register is “Do You Have Emergency Needs”? This means during your evacuation or since staying at home during the disaster, do you need help with Gas, Medication, Food (meals, water, had no power and everything spoils), Shelter (you are staying with friends, family or in a hotel); Clothing; or Durable Medical Equipment (oxygen, walkers, cane, glasses, all major equipment, etc). If this is true, say “YES” to this question. That will result in your receiving Displacement / Critical Needs Assistance, which is $750.
2. When asked if your home is/was accessible, answer “NO” if there was debris, tree branches, continued flooding, loss of power, damage or destruction that prevented you from staying there after Helene. This question is asking whether you can stay at your home or apartment and will trigger the ability for you to receive assistance to pay for hotels or provide funding to use while you stay with family or friends.
3. When asked if utilities are out, say “YES” even if your utilities were out for a few days. This triggers assistance $ to stay somewhere other than your home or to buy fuel to power a generator.
4. When asked “Are you willing to relocate” say “YES” if you cannot live in your home due to damage, loss of power, etc. This question means you are willing to stay in a hotel or apartment temporarily, and triggers that funding for you. It is not asking if you are willing to move away from your home permanently.
5. If you bought or buy a generator, FEMA will reimburse you up to $629, but you must submit the receipt. If you bought a chainsaw, FEMA will reimburse you up to $219. Again, you need to provide the receipt. Save your receipts.
A Burke County Relief Center has opened in the Foothills Higher Education Center on South Sterling Street near I-40 in Morganton and offers water, canned foods, children’s necessities, cleaning supplies, hygiene, and other needed items.
UNC Health Blue Ridge established an Incident Command at its Morganton campus. In the midst of the storm the hospital lost power at both its Morganton and Valdese campuses. Its generators immediately took over, and power has since been restored. Like most of the area, the hospital experienced a temporary water outage at Morganton, and a contractual agreement enabled transferring potable water from Catawba County. Importantly, this has not affected patient care.
Cooperative crews from less-impacted regions of the state have joined forces with Rutherford EMC’s local crews to navigate hard-hit communities and tackle outages. Restoration points are inaccessible in many areas due to flooding or damaged roadways, and damage to power poles and lines is severe across the system.
Grocery stores continue to replenishment food stocks.
Aviation traffic at the Morganton-Lenoir Airport is busy. As of mid-afternoon Monday, there were 10 helicopters in operation, including several Black Hawks and a couple of National Guard choppers. These were delivering food and other emergency supplies for Burke and Caldwell counties. State Rep. Hugh Blackwell, Speaker of the House Tim Moore, and Burke Sheriff Banks Hinceman were aboard another helicopter taking aerial tours of the area.
The Town of Valdese cleared a landing pad for a federal/military fire and rescue helicopter on Old Rock School grounds to be used as a landing zone in case needed. The town’s pre-agenda meeting is postponed until Oct. 7.
The Valdese Community Center will open on a regular schedule Wednesday, Oct. 2. At this time, only Children’s Park is open. Please remain off of the Greenway and out of Valdese Lakeside Park and McGalliard Falls Park.
Water service is restored in Valdese. Extensive power outages remain and are being restored. Additional information forthcoming. Public works and cleaning crews from Maiden, Duke Energy, and locally have been working throughout the town to collect debris and fallen trees.
Mimosa Golf Course is closed for the week.
Staff Writer Saydie Bean contributed to this story.
Related
Read The Paper's Oct. 1 special eEdition loaded with Hurricane Helene stories
