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Welfare check form set up for concerned family members of Burke County residents

Impacts from Hurricane Helene have made communication extremely difficult across Burke County.

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — People who have been unable to contact loved ones in Burke County after Hurricane Helene can access a form set up by county officials.

The form gives access to a document that can be filled out to request a welfare check in Burke County, which includes the city of Morganton and the towns of Valdese, Drexel, Glen Alpine, Long View, Rhodhiss and more.

Burke County Communications set up the document, which asks for the name, date of birth, and address of the person the welfare check request is being made for. The form can be accessed here.

Widespread flooding and fallen trees have caused phone services to be extremely limited in Burke County. 

RELATED: Avery County inmates moved to Rowan County after power, water outages

Communications personnel will review each submission and process it accordingly, according to officials. 

Challenging travel conditions may make some parts of the county unreachable for welfare checks, officials said.

Officials ask people to not call  911 after making a welfare check request unless the waiting period goes beyond 24 hours.

Burke County also has a form set up to report property damage in the county from Hurricane Helene. 

Some residents in the area are grateful to have a home to go to after Helene. 

"We're still alive," Morganton resident Mary Root told WCNC Charlotte's Jesse Pierre. "A tree could have fallen over, and then, that's it, and no place to stay. IT could have flooded a lot more than it did."

RELATED: Biden grants NC's request for immediate federal help after Helene

Root was still without power for days, though.

"A small generator I use at to charge our phone," Root pointed out. "And my daughter is autistic, and she has special issues with her intestines, so it's hard on her, but she has been doing so well."

But she said her fridge is empty since she's unable to safely store food, so she's using coolers to keep supplies fresh, as well as her life-saving diabetes medicine.

Root drove to the YMCA in Charlotte so she could take a shower and headed to Matthews to get some ice, but she said it was worth it.

Kathy Coffey and Thomas Padgett live in Valdese, and they're without power as well.

"We lost probably $200 to $300 worth from the freezer, and in the fridge, we had some in it, probably had about $100 to $200 [worth,]" they said. 

Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.

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