Three weeks after Tropical Storm Helene turned quaint creeks and rivers into deadly forces of nature in western North Carolina on Sept. 27, statistics still feel inadequate to describe the depth of its wounds.
State of play: At least 95 people died from Helene in North Carolina, according to figures the state provided to Axios Friday, but a local public radio station using local officials’ data puts the number at 125.
- The state says 39 people are still missing, but locals believe it’s far more, and are posting about their missing loved ones on Facebook and distributing an unofficial spreadsheet of missing people.
- The state adds that its number of missing “is not a definitive count,” because it’s dependent on information it receives from various sources, including local governments and nonprofits.
- Nearly 500 roads remain closed. More than 80,000 people have been approved for FEMA’s individual assistance aid.
But none of that, locals say, captures the scope of a storm that created disasters in communities stretching more than 100 miles across mountainous terrain from southwestern North Carolina to just north of the Virginia border.