AVERY COUNTY, N.C. — Hurricane Helene’s death toll reached 200 after Georgia and North Carolina reported more fatalities. It’s the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland United States since Hurricane Katrina.
Helene devasted essential services in western Avery County, where crews are still searching for people one week later.
In the Green Valley community along the Toe River, residents said the water rose 15 to 20 feet, sweeping homes off their foundations and cars downstream.
Channel 9′s Dave Faherty traveled along Highway 19E from Green Valley through Plumtree on Thursday morning.
In western Avery County, roads have been washed away. A mudslide there caused a truck to slide down a hillside. The high water even left vehicles up against a church near Plumtree.
YMCA CEO Trey Oakley showed Faherty homes that used to sit along the Toe River.
“There’s people we can’t find. There’s resources we’re trying to utilize to really, just, find the unaccounted …