BURNSVILLE – For many residents in Yancey and Mitchell Counties, waiting around for a road destroyed in Tropical Storm Helene to be fixed isn’t an option, as they require basic necessities like food and water.
So in the interim, remote mountain communities have lived by a ” Neighbors helping neighbors ” mantra.
On Oct. 8, traffic was backed up along U.S. 19 crossing into Yancey County from Madison County. Numerous law enforcement from around the state and region manned the roadway as food, water, supplies and eager volunteers poured in from throughout the country.
The News-Record & Sentinel spoke with Yancey County Sheriff Shane Hilliard Oct. 8, who said the county death toll was at 14 as of 2 p.m. Tuesday. The sheriff said the county has recovered nine bodies and continues to look for another six bodies of victims who died in Hurricane Helene’s destruction.
“We’re constantly doing welfare checks to make sure, because you’ve got families from out of state that can’t talk to loved ones,” Hilliard said. “We’re being that middle. Every day, there’s more and more and more. But most of those people, we’re able to account for.”