A pregnant mother told CNN she is “completely trapped” inside her home in Tater Hill, North Carolina, due to flooding from Hurricane Helene.
The mother of two, Jennifer Replogle, spoke with the outlet Saturday morning. She said the roads are gone, there is no power, no food, and water is running out.
“Our basement flooded yesterday. If they don’t get somebody to us soon, I really don’t know what to do,” Replogle explained.
Aerial video footage shows the massive flooding in North Carolina with roads severely damaged and homes left looking like piles of debris:
The hurricane brought strong winds and heavy rains to North Carolina on Thursday evening after it made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Florida where it left massive destruction in its wake, the Asheville Citizen Times reported Sunday.
“The storm left more than 1 million customers without power across North Carolina immediately following the storm, including more than 440,000 in Western North Carolina,” the outlet said.
At least 64 people have died due to the storm and cleanup efforts have begun as millions are still without power, the Associated Press (AP) reported Sunday.
“Among the dead are three firefighters, a mother and her 1-month-old twins and an 89-year-old woman who was struck by a tree that hit her house,” according to a New York Post article published Saturday.
After the storm hit Florida, it eventually moved into Georgia where Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said the area “looks like a bomb went off” after he viewed the devastation it left behind, the AP article said.
Meanwhile, the Weather Channel reported:
On Sunday morning, North Carolina’s Governor announced that President Joe Biden approved his request for a Federal Major Disaster Declaration, providing immediate federal help for the western North Carolina region. This declaration is in addition to the federal emergency declaration that was in place before Tropical Storm Helene hit the state.
As Helene barged inland, western North Carolina faced devastating flooding with some areas submerged under feet of water. Other neighborhoods were isolated by standing water or mudslides. “Over 400 roads remain closed in North Carolina,” The North Carolina Department of Transportation said Saturday. “All roads in Western NC should be considered closed.”
While speaking with CNN, Replogle told the outlet, “We weren’t prepared for this.”