Asheville cut off from world; damage estimated $100B in South

(The Center Square) – Asheville and other parts of western North Carolina were cut off from the world on Saturday, with no roads open into or out of the most populous city in the region and electricity and cell towers limited or inoperable.

Fatalities from the storm Helene in the South were more than five dozen, and the Buncombe County numbers – where Asheville is county seat – were not included due to trouble reaching next of kin, said the Emergency Services director. Nearby Spruce Pine collected 24 inches of rain between Tuesday and Saturday, dwarfing the 11-plus in metro Atlanta in a 48-hour period that eclipsed records dating to 1878.