The trail of damage caused by Hurricane Helen last week has become a “public health emergency,” with local officials in hard-hit North Carolina saying thousands were left stranded without water. said.
Helen made landfall last Thursday near Perry in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of about 140 miles per hour.
The storm caused deaths in several southern and southeastern states. Helen also brought storm surge and torrential rain, threatening several dams and flooding Asheville, North Carolina. At least 225 people had been killed in the storm across the Southeast as of midday Saturday, according to the Associated Press. Much of western North Carolina was destroyed by the storm, and relief efforts continue.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that as of Thursday, about 136,000 people in the Southeast were receiving water from inactive water utilities and more than 1.8 million people were under boil water advisories. There is.
Helen destroyed a critical part of Asheville’s water system. Water was restored to some areas south of Asheville on Friday, but without complete repairs, normal operations for schools, hospitals, hotels and restaurants are threatened. Even non-potable water, such as toilet water, is in short supply.
Drew Reisinger, the Registrar of Deeds for Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, is concerned about apartment dwellers who don’t have easy access to water to flush their toilets.
“One thing that no one is talking about is the amount of poop that exists in all the restrooms in Asheville,” he told The Associated Press. “We are dealing with a public health emergency.”
Authorities advised residents to draw non-potable water from local pools.
Newsweek reached out to the EPA’s Water Division and Buncombe County Public Health via email after-hours Saturday evening for comment.
A couple collects water for toilets in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen on September 29 in Fairview, North Carolina. The trail of devastation created by Hurricane Helen last week has left a mark on “Public Health…” A couple collects water for a toilet in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen on Sept. 29 in Fairview, North Carolina. “The trail of devastation created by” local officials in severely affected North Carolina have left thousands stranded without water and declared a “public health emergency” this week. says. Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Another danger is contamination of cooking and drinking water. Hundreds of providers have issued boil water notices that indicate the water may be contaminated. Natalie Exum, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told The Associated Press that small mistakes in the boiling process can cause stomach illnesses.
“Every day that passes, you’re potentially exposed to pathogens,” Exum says. “These basic services that we take for granted in our daily lives can actually go a long way in preventing disease.”
Meanwhile, the Blue Ridge Mountains’ steep and narrow canyons make recovery efforts even more difficult.
“The challenge with geography is simply fewer roads, fewer access points, and less flat land to put resources into,” Brian Smith, acting deputy administrator for the EPA’s Southeast Water Division, told The Associated Press. Ta.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
