RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and other state emergency officials are discussing ongoing recovery efforts after impacts from Helene.
After a trip to Asheville on Monday, Cooper is holding Tuesday's briefing from Raleigh.
During Tuesday's briefing, Cooper announced Interstate 40 eastbound out of Asheville had reopened to traffic. Westbound lanes into Asheville are expected to open later on Tuesday.
I-40, along with many other roads in western North Carolina, had been closed because of landslides, flash flooding and other damage. Many other roads remain closed and Cooper reminded everyone on Tuesday that all roads should be considered closed to non-essential travel.
Portions of I-40 linking western North Carolina to Tennessee were heavily damaged to the storm and still need extensive repair.
Desperate residents of the storm-battered mountains of western North Carolina lined up for water and food, hunted for cell signals, and slogged buckets from creeks to flush toilets days after Hurricane Helene's remnants deluged the region. Exhausted emergency workers toiled around the clock to clear roads, restore power and phone service, and reach people stranded by the storm, which killed at least 133 people across the Southeast, a toll expected to rise.
And election officials across the South made emergency preparations to ensure displaced residents would be able to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
President Joe Biden was set to survey the devastation in the region Wednesday. Officials in the hard-hit tourism hub of Asheville said their water system suffered “catastrophic” damage that could take weeks to fully repair. Government officials, aid groups and volunteers worked to deliver supplies by air, truck and even mule to the town and surrounding mountain communities. At least 40 people died in Buncombe County, which includes Asheville, a normally bustling city of 94,000.
The North Carolina death toll included one horrific story after another of people who were trapped by floodwaters in their homes and vehicles or were killed by falling trees. A courthouse security officer died after being submerged inside his truck. A couple and a 6-year-old boy waiting to be rescued on a rooftop drowned when part of their home collapsed.
Rescuers did manage to save dozens, including an infant and two others stuck on the top of a car in Atlanta. More than 50 hospital patients and staff in Tennessee were plucked by helicopter from the hospital rooftop in a daring rescue operation.
The Associated Press contributed to this story