BANNER ELK, N.C. — Residents in Avery County received some good news Wednesday, as Lowes Foods announced its grocery story in Banner Elk reopened.
The store, located on North Carolina 105, will operate from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily for the foreseeable future. Employees were on site stocking shelves as the store had electricity.
It's unclear how often the store will get deliveries due to blocked roads in the area. NCDOT says hundreds of roads are still closed in the region, including Interstate 40 near the Tennessee line. Interstate 26 is closed just across the border in Tennessee, as well. State officials said eastbound I-40 was open out of Asheville but state leaders are limiting traffic to emergency personnel only.
Avery County was one of the hardest-hit counties in western North Carolina by the storm. Entire homes floated down swollen rivers and streets. Dozens of people have reported their loved ones as missing and cellular service is still touch and go.
More than 150,000 households have registered for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and that number is expected to rise rapidly in the coming days, said Frank Matranga, an agency representative.
Nearly 2 million ready-to-eat meals and more than a million liters of water have been sent to the hardest-hit areas, he said.
WCNC Charlotte partnered with Operation Airdrop for a community-wide donation drop-off in Concord on Thursday. The nonprofit has delivered dozens of shipments to western North Carolina communities impacted by Helene. In just three days this week, over 120,000 pounds of supplies were flown out of Concord alone. The group is also airlifting supplies out of airports in Hickory and Statesville.