A severely damaged water system that could take weeks to repair. Hundreds of miles from where it made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend, Hurricane Helene caused unprecedented damage in western North Carolina, where at least 49 people have died and dozens of others are missing. “The devastation was beyond belief,” North Carolina Gov. “Were they stationing water off the mountain ready to be trucked up here, knowing how fragile our water system is? Anyone acting like this is a surprise has not been here long enough and is not from the mountains and does not understand how water works.”

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Persons: Hurricane Helene, Roy Cooper, that’s, Deanne Criswell, Cooper, Devonna Brown, ”, “, ” Sara Legatski Organizations: North Carolina Gov, Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA Locations: Florida’s Big Bend, Hurricane, North Carolina, Asheville, “