Homebound North Carolina locals are currently facing predicaments without access to essentials such as food and drinking water, due to the catastrophic flooding.
Some North Carolinians are dealing with difficult circumstances due to the heaviest flooding caused by tropical depression Helene.
Jennifer Replogle, a mom of two young kids and who's expecting another child, is stuck at her Boone, North Carolina residence, located at an elevation of 4,200 feet, where extreme flooding isn't typical.
She messaged early Saturday moring, stating, "We weren't ready for this. The roads are nonexistent, wiped out completely."
Power outages started since Friday midday according to her. As of Saturday morning, around 700,000 North Carolinians, including 19,226 residents of Watauga County where Tater Hill is situated, were left in the dark, as per poweroutage.us.
Replogle revealed that she's running out of food and water.
The only narrow, winding mountain roads into Boone are passable, but stone-cold impassable according to her.
“Our basement got flooded yesterday. If help doesn't gets to us soon, I'm at a loss,” said Replogle.
She's worried about the plumbing and water services business she and her husband run. They've seen a photo of their business' flooded parking lot and fear they've lost most of their assets.
Her employees are stranded at home or at friends', Replogle added.
Watauga County authorities declared a curfew from 8 pm to 8 am, as explained in a post on the county’s Emergency Services Facebook page. The curfew was enforced due to "dangerous conditions," "damaged roads," and "ongoing emergency operations."
The town of Boone also issued a boil water advisory on Friday due to "multiple water breaks," as stated in their Facebook page.
Helene landed in Florida on Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane, damaging properties, uprooting buildings, and causing blackouts across the Southeast. At least 55 people have perished in five states.
Helene is considered one of the worst storms in recent history for certain parts of North Carolina, said Gov. Roy Cooper. Over 2 feet of rain fell in the state's mountain region from Wednesday morning to Friday morning, with Busick, a tiny unincorporated area in Yancey County, bordering Tennessee, recording 29.58 inches in just 48 hours.
More than 400 roads remain blocked in Western North Carolina, according to the state Department of Transportation, which announced Saturday morning that "all roads in Western NC should be considered closed," as stated in their post.
North Carolina resident, Patrick McNamara, who owns a small milk distribution company in Asheville, spoke with CNN about his business which was destroyed by floodwaters.
Upon waking up on Saturday, McNamara got his first glimpse of the destruction Helene left behind, saying, “The floodwaters were 4 feet above the dock.” The facility's machinery was scattered across the warehouse, spoiled milk, and inches of mud all over the floor, McNamara estimated thousands of milk gallons will have to be discarded.
His biggest challenge is clearing the mud that flooded into the warehouse, he said, "It was two or three inches thick."
Floodwaters breached the five-foot-tall loading dock and flooded the building with an estimated four feet of water, according to McNamara. He's unsure when resources like water and electricity will return. McNamara considered relocating the business to another facility if needed.
“We’re looking in Nashville. We’re gonna stay right here, but it’s a tough and unique business,” said McNamara. “So not everybody has the facilities that will accommodate what we’re looking for.”
Over the weekend, parts of Western North Carolina are expected to receive up to 1 inch of rain, added Gov. Cooper, stating "significant danger from this storm still exists" in his post.
CNN’s Caroline Jaime and Zoe Sottile contributed to this report.
Despite the challenging situation, Jennifer Replogle and her family are hoping for help, as she mentioned, "If help doesn't get to us soon, I'm at a loss." Us, as North Carolinians, need to come together and support those affected by tropical depression Helene.
With power outages affecting over 700,000 North Carolinians, including Replogle and her family in Watauga County, utilizing resources like the poweroutage.us website can provide valuable information and updates.
